Object metadata-based cloud policy enforcement using synthetic request injection

ABSTRACT

The technology disclosed describes a network security system that is configured to configure a synthetic request with an object identifier, and to inject the synthetic request into an application session to transmit the synthetic request to a cloud application. The synthetic request is configured to retrieve object metadata about the object using the object identifier. The network security system is further configured to receive from the cloud application a response to the synthetic request. The response supplies the object metadata.

PRIORITY APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. Non-Provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 17/238,579, entitled “Synthetic RequestInjection to Retrieve Object Metadata for Cloud Policy Enforcement,”filed 23 Apr. 2021.

FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY DISCLOSED

The technology disclosed relates to configuring a network intermediaryor security middleware (e.g., CASBs, SWGs, firewalls) with a networkrequest-response mechanism and methods to achieve a target networksecurity objective. The request-response mechanism and methods can beimplemented in various network protocols for inter-processcommunications like FTP, FTPS, GOPHER, HTTP, HTTPS, IMAP, IMAPS, LDAP,LDAPS, POP3, POP3S, RTMP, RTMPS, RTSP, SCP, SFTP, SMTP, SMTPS, SPDY, andTFTP.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/237,964, titled “SYNTHETIC REQUEST INJECTION TO GENERATE METADATA FORCLOUD POLICY ENFORCEMENT,” filed Apr. 22, 2021, issued as U.S. Pat. No.11,178,188 on Nov. 16, 2021. The related application is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/238,545, titled “SYNTHETIC REQUEST INJECTION TO GENERATE METADATA ATPOINTS OF PRESENCE FOR CLOUD SECURITY ENFORCEMENT,” filed Apr. 23, 2021,issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,184,403 on Nov. 23, 2021. The relatedapplication is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/238,563, titled “DATA FLOW LOGIC FOR SYNTHETIC REQUEST INJECTION FORCLOUD SECURITY ENFORCEMENT,” filed Apr. 23, 2021, issued as U.S. Pat.No. 11,271,972 on Mar. 8, 2022. The related application is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/237,877, titled “SYNTHETIC REQUEST INJECTION TO RETRIEVE EXPIREDMETADATA FOR CLOUD POLICY ENFORCEMENT,” filed Apr. 22, 2021, issued asU.S. Pat. No. 11,647,052 on May 9, 2023. The related application ishereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/237,863, titled “SYNTHETIC REQUEST INJECTION TO IMPROVE OBJECTSECURITY POSTURE FOR CLOUD SECURITY ENFORCEMENT,” filed Apr. 22, 2021,issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,190,550 on Nov. 30, 2021. The relatedapplication is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/237,783, titled “SYNTHETIC REQUEST INJECTION TO DISAMBIGUATE BYPASSEDLOGIN EVENTS FOR CLOUD POLICY ENFORCEMENT,” filed Apr. 22, 2021, issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 11,303,647 on Apr. 12, 2022. The related application ishereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/237,748, titled “SYNTHETIC REQUEST INJECTION FOR CLOUD POLICYENFORCEMENT,” filed Apr. 22, 2021, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,336,698 onMay 17, 2022. The related application is hereby incorporated byreference for all purposes.

INCORPORATIONS

The following are incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fullyset forth herein:

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BACKGROUND

The subject matter discussed in this section should not be assumed to beprior art merely as a result of its mention in this section. Similarly,a problem mentioned in this section or associated with the subjectmatter provided as background should not be assumed to have beenpreviously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in thissection merely represents different approaches, which in and ofthemselves can also correspond to implementations of the claimedtechnology.

Data loss prevention, often shortened to DLP, is a set of processes andtools used to ensure that sensitive data is not lost, misused, oraccessed by unauthorized persons. The term sensitive data often refersto personal data, which is defined by the European Union as anyinformation relating to an identified or identifiable individual.However, sensitive data can also refer to any data of which thecompromise with respect to confidentiality, integrity, or availabilitycould have an adverse material effect on the interests of involvedparties.

Data loss is a real problem faced by business, gaining importance withthe increasing proliferation of information systems. The need ofbusinesses to protect their sensitive data stems not only from financialfactors, but also from the need to comply with laws and regulations oftheir respective countries and moral obligations. For example, TreatyNo. 108 of the Council of Europe strictly mandates that appropriatesecurity measures are taken for the protection of personal data storedin automated data files against accidental or unauthorized destructionor accidental loss as well as against unauthorized access, alteration,or dissemination. The failure to comply with such regulations can bepunished by harsh penalties. For example, penalties stated in theGeneral Data Protection Regulation (also known as GDPR) have recentlygarnered wide attention and have become a major concern for manycompanies.

Public cloud-based applications, especially software as a service, are aspecial case with regard to data loss prevention. These applicationsdeviate from the older on-premises DLP paradigm by storing andmanipulating sensitive data outside the total control of theorganization. The systems are hosted outside the premises of thecompanies and are managed by the cloud provider with limited options forconfiguration, management, and extensibility by the customer. Thisseverely hinders the capabilities of traditional DLP systems focusing onon-premises infrastructure, as data is heavily manipulated remotelythrough web applications, is not always stored on endpoints and networkshares that can be searched by traditional crawlers and is expected tobe allowed to breach the on-premises barrier when communicating with thecloud.

A class of security solutions that focus on protecting data manipulatedin cloud-based applications are cloud access security brokers, commonlyshortened to CASBs. CASBs provide multiple types of security policyenforcement. These include authenticated access, single sign-on,authorization, credential mapping, DLP, IP restriction, devicerestriction, device profiling, geographical restriction, time zonerestriction, encryption, tokenization, logging, altering, and malwaredetection and prevention.

CASBs are specialized security solutions developed by third parties toaddress security gaps in organizations' usage of cloud services. Theyprovide protection concurrently across multiple cloud services and offervisibility into user activities and their granular control. The primaryfocus is on back-office and productivity applications delivered in thesoftware as a service model. They operate inline between the client andthe cloud server, intercepting traffic as a forward or reverse proxy.They can also function in an out-of-band fashion, by interfacing withthe cloud service with an application programming interface (API) toperform their operations directly in the cloud environment.

There are two main types of architectural approaches used in proxy-basedCASB systems. In the forward proxy model, the solution operates byleveraging a network gateway that intercepts all communication to thecloud services. Some solutions may even complement this by deployingendpoint agents or by other methods. This method can be fairly intrusivewith regard to the infrastructure, as it requires all traffic fromclients to the cloud servers to be forcibly routed through the gateway.An advantage of this approach is having more visibility into the usageof unsanctioned cloud services, as all traffic to them passes throughthe broker, and enforcement of real-time policy actions. The maindisadvantage lies in the difficulty of addressing unmanaged devices andbring your own device (BYOD) scenarios.

In the reverse proxy model, the network nodes hidden behind the proxyare not the clients, but the cloud servers instead. The broker can bedeployed either on-premises or cloud-based, using the software as aservice model. This can be achieved by redirecting the authenticationmechanism of the cloud service to the CASB by which it inserts itselfbetween the endpoint users and the cloud service. The users can then usethe cloud services in the same fashion as before but with rewrittenuniform resource locators (URLs). An advantage of this model is easysupport for the BYOD scenarios, as there are little to no configurationchanges needed on endpoint devices. With regard to data loss prevention,systems that employ these inline protection methods are mainly focusedon data in motion. The methods by which they protect sensitive data arevery similar to those offered by on-premises DLP systems. They canutilize most of the previously described methods for dataclassification, as well as handle leakage incidents by blocking,quarantining, encryption, or tokenization before the data is passed tothe cloud service.

A significantly different model to the proxy-based approach is used byAPI-based CASB systems. These solutions provide their functionality byinterfacing with API exposed by the cloud service providers themselves,rather than intercepting traffic as a middleman. The point of differencein data loss prevention capabilities, compared to the proxy-basedsystems, is that these systems are better suited for protection of dataat rest. They are capable of accessing the cloud file storage bythemselves by leveraging the API to download and inspect the files fordata classification. The data can then be protected by CASB-nativemethods or by leveraging native capabilities of the cloud servicesthemselves to protect the data with access controls or encryption, forexample with Salesforce Shield or Azure Information Protection. Systemsutilizing this model can also increase their auditing capabilities byconsuming audit and user activity logs collected by the servicesthemselves. The logs from different services can then be consolidatedinto a single stream. As with other features derived from this approach,this assumes the cloud service providers expose an API for logconsumption.

The assignee, Netskope, Inc., offers CASB solutions that use metadatafor context-based policy enforcement. However, accessing metadata is anon-trivial challenge because cloud service providers require these CASBsolutions to intermediate within an exacting sequence of trafficinspection. When the metadata is not available in a transaction stream,these CASB solutions have limited ability to garner the missing metadataand therefore unable to enforce appropriate policies.

An opportunity arises to make these CASB solutions self-sufficient toindependently retrieve the missing metadata while adhering to thedemanding intermediation protocols of the cloud service providers.Improved security posture and reduced risk of data loss, exposure, andexfiltration across multi-cloud, web, and email environment may result.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to like partsthroughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarilyto scale, with an emphasis instead generally being placed uponillustrating the principles of the technology disclosed. In thefollowing description, various implementations of the technologydisclosed are described with reference to the following drawings, inwhich.

FIG. 1 shows one implementation of a network security system issuing asynthetic request during an application session of a cloud applicationto retrieve metadata that is otherwise missing from the applicationsession.

FIG. 2 depicts a synthetic listener mode of injecting a syntheticrequest in an application session of a cloud application and extractingmetadata from a corresponding synthetic response in accordance with oneimplementation of the technology disclosed.

FIG. 3 shows one implementation of a processing path that generatessynthetic requests using application-specific parsers and synthetictemplates.

FIG. 4 shows one implementation of a processing flow that generates anexample synthetic request.

FIG. 5 shows one implementation of using bi-directional syntheticrequests for native apps.

FIG. 6 shows one example of a 401 App-Expected Response issued as asynthetic request to clients running native apps.

FIG. 7 shows one example of a people token request issued as a syntheticrequest to cloud applications.

FIG. 8 shows another example of a synthetic request.

FIG. 9 shows one implementation of a side car service that is shared bymultiple instances of a network security system to generate syntheticrequests.

FIG. 10 shows an example secure access service edge (SASE) network witha plurality of geographically distributed points of presence.

FIG. 11 shows one implementation of use of synthetic requests in a proxyhandoff situation.

FIG. 12 shows one implementation of using synthetic requests to retrieveobject metadata from cloud applications.

FIG. 13 shows one implementation of a succeeding synthetic request beingissued to a client to convey object metadata, generated by a precedingsynthetic request.

FIG. 14 shows one implementation of using synthetic requests to retrieveobjects from cloud applications.

FIG. 15 shows one implementation of using synthetic requests to retrievea fresh version of expired metadata.

FIG. 16 shows one implementation of using synthetic requests to modifysecurity postures of objects residing in cloud applications.

FIG. 17 shows one implementation of using synthetic requests todisambiguate a login event that bypassed a network security system.

FIG. 18 shows one implementation of issuing multiple synthetic requestsduring an application session.

FIG. 19 shows one implementation of issuing a synthetic request tosynthetically harvest/generate/garner metadata for policy enforcement onyet-to-be received future incoming requests.

FIG. 20 shows an example computer system that can be used to implementthe technology disclosed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following discussion is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the technology disclosed and is provided in thecontext of a particular application and its requirements. Variousmodifications to the disclosed implementations will be readily apparentto those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined hereinmay be applied to other implementations and applications withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the technology disclosed. Thus,the technology disclosed is not intended to be limited to theimplementations shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistentwith the principles and features disclosed herein.

The detailed description of various implementations will be betterunderstood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. To theextent that the figures illustrate diagrams of the functional blocks ofthe various implementations, the functional blocks are not necessarilyindicative of the division between hardware circuitry. Thus, forexample, one or more of the functional blocks (e.g., modules,processors, or memories) may be implemented in a single piece ofhardware (e.g., a general purpose signal processor or a block of randomaccess memory, hard disk, or the like) or multiple pieces of hardware.Similarly, the programs may be stand-alone programs, may be incorporatedas subroutines in an operating system, may be functions in an installedsoftware package, and the like. It should be understood that the variousimplementations are not limited to the arrangements and instrumentalityshown in the drawings.

The processing engines and databases of the figures, designated asmodules, can be implemented in hardware or software, and need not bedivided up in precisely the same blocks as shown in the figures. Some ofthe modules can also be implemented on different processors, computers,or servers, or spread among a number of different processors, computers,or servers. In addition, it will be appreciated that some of the modulescan be combined, operated in parallel or in a different sequence thanthat shown in the figures without affecting the functions achieved. Themodules in the figures can also be thought of as flowchart steps in amethod. A module also need not necessarily have all its code disposedcontiguously in memory; some parts of the code can be separated fromother parts of the code with code from other modules or other functionsdisposed in between.

Cloud Applications

Cloud applications 108 are network services that can be web-based (e.g.,accessed via a uniform resource locator (URL)) or native, such as syncclients. The cloud applications 108 can be cloud storage applications,cloud computing applications, hosted services, news websites, blogs,video streaming websites, social media websites, collaboration andmessaging platforms, and customer relationship management (CRM)platforms. The cloud applications 108 can be provided assoftware-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings, platform-as-a-service (PaaS)offerings, and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) offerings, as well asinternal enterprise applications that are exposed via URLs.

Examples of common cloud applications today include Box™, Dropbox™,Google Drive™, Amazon AWS™, Google Cloud Platform (GCP)™, MicrosoftAzure™, Microsoft Office 365™, Google Workspace™, Workday™, Oracle onDemand™, Taleo™, Jive™, Concur™, YouTube™, Facebook™, Twitter™, Google™,LinkedIn™, Wikipedia™, Yahoo™, Baidu™, Amazon™, MSN™, Pinterest™,Taobao™, Instagram™, Tumblr™, eBay™, Hotmail™, Reddit™, IMDb™, Netflix™,PayPal™, Imgur™, Snapchat™, Yammer™, Skype™, Slack™, HipChat™,Confluence™, TeamDrive™, Taskworld™, Chatter™, Zoho™, ProsperWorks™,Gmail™, and Salesforce.com™.

The cloud applications 108 provide functionality to users that isimplemented in the cloud and that is the target of policies, e.g.,logging in, editing documents, downloading bulk data, reading customercontact information, entering payables, deleting documents, in additionto the offerings of a simple website and ecommerce sites. Note that someconsumer facing websites, e.g., Facebook™ and Twitter™, which offersocial networks, are the type of cloud applications considered here.Some cloud applications, e.g., Gmail™, can be a hybrid with some freeusers using the application generally while other corporations use it asan enterprise subscription. Note that a cloud application can besupported by both web browser clients and application clients that useURL-based APIs (application programming interfaces). Thus, usingDropbox™ as an example, user activity on the Dropbox™ website, as wellas activity of the Dropbox™ client on the computer could be monitored.

The cloud applications 108 often publish their APIs to allow a thirdparty to communicate with them and utilize their underlying data. An APIrefers to a packaged collection of code libraries, routines, protocolsmethods, and fields that belong to a set of classes, including itsinterface types. The API defines the way that developers and programmerscan use the classes for their own software development, just byimporting the relevant classes and writing statements that instantiatethe classes and call their methods and fields. An API is a sourcecode-based application intended to be used as an interface by softwarecomponents to communicate with each other. An API can includeapplications for routines, data structures, object classes, andvariables. Basically, an API provides an interface for developers andprogrammers to access the underlying data, platform capabilities, andfeatures of web services. Implementations of the technology discloseduse different types of APIs, non-exclusive examples of which includeremote invocation of services to return data, web service APIs such asHTTP or HTTPs based APIs like SOAP, WSDL, Bulk, XML-RPC and JSON-RPC andREST APIs (e.g., Flickr™, Google Static Maps™, Google Geolocation™), websocket APIs, library-based APIs like JavaScript and TWAIN (e.g., GoogleMaps™, JavaScript API, Dropbox™ JavaScript Data store API, Twilio™ APIs,Oracle Call Interface (OCI)), class-based APIs like Java API and AndroidAPI (e.g., Google Maps™ Android API, MSDN Class Library for .NETFramework, Twilio™ APIs for Java and C#), OS functions and routines likeaccess to file system and access to user interface, object remoting APIslike CORBA and .NET Remoting, and hardware APIs like video acceleration,hard disk drives, and PCI buses. Other examples of APIs used by thetechnology disclosed include Amazon EC2 API™, Box Content API™, BoxEvents API™, Microsoft Graph™, Dropbox API™, Dropbox API v2™, DropboxCore API™, Dropbox Core API v2™, Facebook Graph API™, Foursquare API™,Geonames API™, Force.com API™, Force.com Metadata API™, Apex API™,Visualforce API™, Force.com Enterprise WSDL™, Salesforce.com StreamingAPI™, Salesforce.com Tooling API™, Google Drive API™, Drive REST API™,AccuWeather API™, and aggregated-single API like CloudRail™ API.

Network Security System

A network security system (NSS) 104, also referred to herein as a policyenforcement system, intermediates network traffic that pass betweenclients 102 and the cloud applications 108. The network security system104 consolidates multiple types of security enforcements. Examples ofthe security enforcements include authentication, federated singlesign-on (SSO), authorization, credential mapping, device profiling,encryption, tokenization, data leakage prevention (DLP), logging,alerting, and malware detection and prevention.

Examples of the clients 102 include browsers, web apps, native apps, andhybrid apps. Examples of the network security system 104 include cloudaccess security brokers (CASBs), secure web gateways (SWGs), networkfirewalls, application firewalls, routing systems, load balancingsystems, filtering systems, data planes, management planes, data lossprevention (DLP) systems, intrusion prevention systems (IPSs), zerotrust network access (ZTNA), and secure access service edge (SASE). Thenetwork security system 104 can also be a network security stack thatincludes different security systems like the CASBs, the SWGs, thenetwork firewalls, the application firewalls, the routing systems, theload balancing systems, the filtering systems, the data planes, themanagement planes, the DLP systems, and the IP systems. The networksecurity system 104 can be implemented on-premises or can becloud-based. Also, multiple geographically distributed points ofpresence of the network security system 104 can be implemented in asecure access service edge (SASE) network.

Employees now rely on the cloud applications 108 to performbusiness-critical functions and routinely upload sensitive and regulateddata to the web. The network security system 104 intercepts networktraffic in real-time to prevent loss of sensitive data by inspectingdata en route to or from the cloud applications 108 and data resident inthe cloud applications 108. The network security system 104 analyzesapplication layer traffic using APIs to deeply inspect cloud applicationtransactions in real-time. The network security system 104 uses acombination of deep application programming interface inspection(DAPII), deep packet inspection (DPI), and log inspection to monitoruser activity and perform data loss prevention (DLP). The networksecurity system 104 uses DAPII to detect web transactions in real-time,including calls made to the cloud applications 108. The cloudtransactions are decomposed to identify the activity being performed andits associated parameters. In one implementation, the cloud transactionsare represented as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) objects, whichidentify a structure and format that allows the network security system104 to both interpret what actions a user is performing in the webservice as it is happening. So, for example, the network security system104 can detect for an organization that “Joe from Investment Banking,currently in Japan, shared his M&A directory with an investor at a hedgefund at 10 PM.” The network security system 104 achieves DLP bysubjecting data packets to content inspection techniques likelanguage-aware data identifier inspection, document fingerprinting, filetype detection, keyword search, pattern matching, proximity search,regular expression lookup, exact data matching, metadata extraction, andlanguage-agnostic double-byte character inspection. The network securitysystem 104 inspects data that is encoded in network packets and/orhigher order encodings of the network packets such as secure socketslayer (SSL) and/or transport layer security (TLS) handshakes andHypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) transactions.

In some implementations, the network security system 104 can run onserver-side as a cloud resource. In other implementations, the networksecurity system 104 can run on client-side as an endpoint agent. Thenetwork security system 104 is also referred to herein as a “proxy.”

For additional information about the network security system 104,reference can be made to, for example, commonly owned U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 14/198,499; 14/198,508; 14/835,640; 14/835,632;and 62/307,305; Cheng, Ithal, Narayanaswamy, and Malmskog. CloudSecurity For Dummies, Netskope Special Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.2015; “Netskope Introspection” by Netskope, Inc.; “Data Loss Preventionand Monitoring in the Cloud” by Netskope, Inc.; “Cloud Data LossPrevention Reference Architecture” by Netskope, Inc.; “The 5 Steps toCloud Confidence” by Netskope, Inc.; “The Netskope Active Platform” byNetskope, Inc.; “The Netskope Advantage: Three “Must-Have” Requirementsfor Cloud Access Security Brokers” by Netskope, Inc.; “The 15 CriticalCASB Use Cases” by Netskope, Inc.; “Netskope Active Cloud DLP” byNetskope, Inc.; “Repave the Cloud-Data Breach Collision Course” byNetskope, Inc.; and “Netskope Cloud Confidence Index™” by Netskope,Inc., which are incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fullyset forth herein.

Application Session

An “application session” refers to a series of related client requeststhat emanate from a same client during a certain time period (e.g.,fifteen minutes) and are directed towards a same cloud application. Asequence of events occurs in the context of an application session. Themain events of note are: (a) login—provide user credentials to a cloudapplication to authenticate the user; (b) applicationtransactions—execute a set of application level transactions, e.g.,upload documents, download documents, add leads, define new campaigns,etc.; and (c) log-out—this event terminates the application session withan application server of the cloud application. In this context, theapplication session connects these interactions for the network securitysystem 104. Deep packet inspection logic of the network security system104 can identify these events and link policy evaluations to eachtransaction boundary enabling actions to be taken. Most commonly, theapplication session is identified by a session cookie in the HTTP headerand assigned an application session identifier. The network securitysystem 104 can use the session cookie or a URL parameter to define theapplication session.

In contrast, a “connection” refers to a high-level non-network construct(e.g., not a TCP/IP connection) but rather a series of multiple relatednetworks requests and responses. Thus, a series of requests andresponses over the course of a day could be a single connection withinan application, e.g., all use of Salesforce.com within a period withoutlogging off. One definition of a connection is to look at theapplication session identifier, e.g., cookie or URL parameter, used bythe cloud application so that each connection corresponds to a singlesession identifier. A connection can include a sequence of applicationsessions within the boundary of a login event and a log-out event, suchthat application sessions in the sequence of application sessions arepartitioned by time-out events.

Synthetic Request

A “synthetic request” is a request generated by the network securitysystem 104 during an application session and independent of clientrequests generated by a client during the application session. Thesynthetic requests can be generated by the network security system 104,for example, on an ad hoc basis. That is, the synthetic requests can bedynamically constructed and issued “on-the-fly” to get information whenneed arises. The synthetic requests may also be referred to as“synthetic URL requests.”

Web transactions are typically accompanied with access tokens (e.g.,embedded as request parameters or cookies). By extracting an accesstoken for a given transaction, the network security system 104 cansynthetically issue new requests (or transactions) to the cloudapplications 108. The synthetic requests can be, for example, API callsthat explicitly request the metadata-of-interest. Alternatively, thesynthetic requests can trigger page requests that contain themetadata-of-interest. The synthetic requests can be configured toretrieve the metadata-of-interest from the cloud applications 108 orfrom another independent metadata store.

Client requests, referred to herein as “incoming requests,” emanate fromthe clients 102 and directed towards the cloud applications 108 but areintercepted by the network security system 104 for policy enforcement.The synthetic requests are issued by the network security system 104,directed towards the cloud applications 108, and not subjected to policyenforcement by the network security system 104.

The synthetic requests are issued by the network security system 104 asnetwork transactions of communications protocols (e.g., FTP, FTPS,GOPHER, HTTP, HTTPS, IMAP, IMAPS, LDAP, LDAPS, POP3, POP3S, RTMP, RTMPS,RTSP, SCP, SFTP, SMTP, SMTPS, SPDY and TFTP) that, for example,HTTP/HTTPS transactions specify a unified resource identifier (URI) orURL of a resource on the cloud applications 108. The synthetic requestscan include different configurations of a request line, request headerfields and values therefor, and request methods defined by theapplicable communications protocols to indicate the desired action to beperformed for a given resource.

Examples of request headers such as HTTP and HTTPS headers and headerfields that can be used by the network security system 104 to constructthe synthetic requests include cache-control, connection,content-encoding, content-length, content-type, date, pragma, trailer,transfer-encoding, upgrade, via, warning, accept, accept-charset,accept-encoding, accept-language, authorization, cookie, expect, from,host, if-match, if-modified-since, if-none-match, if-range,if-unmodified-since, max-forwards, proxy-authorization, range, referrer,TE, and user-agent. Additional examples and information about therequest header fields can be found, e.g., at List of HTTP header fields,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_HTTP_headerfields&oldid=1012071227(last visited Mar. 16, 2021), which is incorporated by reference for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

One example of request methods, HTTP and HTTPS request methods that canbe used by the network security system 104 to transmit the syntheticrequests include GET, HEAD, POST, PUT, DELETE, CONNECT, OPTIONS, TRACE,and PATCH. Additional information about the HTTP/HTTPS request methodscan be found at Hypertext Transfer Protocol,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol&oldid=1012415417(last visited Mar. 16, 2021), which is incorporated by reference for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

The intended purpose of the synthetic requests can vary from usecase-to-use case. However, opposite to the malicious intent ofout-of-band requests triggered by middlemen who hijack applicationsessions, the synthetic requests are configured to enforce securitypolicies, and thereby thwart data exfiltration and malicious attacks.For example, the synthetic requests can be configured to cause the cloudapplications 108 to provide metadata to the network security system 104.In another example, the synthetic requests can be configured to update asecurity posture of resources (e.g., files) stored at the cloudapplications 108. More examples follow.

In the context of this application, injecting a synthetic request in anapplication session refers to the network security system 104 generatingthe synthetic request during an already established application sessionand transmitting the synthetic request to the cloud applications 108within the context of the already established application session. Thesynthetic request injection can also include receiving a syntheticresponse to the synthetic request within the already establishedapplication session. Within an application session, multiple syntheticrequests can be injected, in parallel or in sequence. The notion ofsynthetic request injection analogously applies to connections, suchthat synthetic requests can be injected in an already establishedconnection across multiple application sessions.

In some implementations, a synthetic request is constructed usingfields, variables, events, and parameters that are part of the originalclient request (or incoming request). Examples of such fields,variables, events, and parameters include cookie data, fixed headers,custom headers, and other request header fields of the original clientrequest.

Synthetic Response

A “synthetic response” is an answer that satisfies a correspondingsynthetic request issued by the network security system 104. Inpreferred implementations, a synthetic request is sent by the networksecurity system 104 to the cloud applications 108, and therefore thecorresponding synthetic response is transmitted by the cloudapplications 108 and received by the network security system 104. Unliketypical server responses, synthetic responses are not subjected topolicy enforcement by the network security system 104. The syntheticresponses are generated by the cloud applications 108 and received bythe network security system 104 independently of the server responsesthat answer the client requests. Since the synthetic requests arenetwork requests generated by the network security system 104 over anetwork protocol (e.g., HTTP, HTTPS), the synthetic responses can alsobe constructed in the like network protocols. Like a typical serverresponse, a synthetic response can include different configurations of astatus line, response header fields and values thereof, and contentbody.

Examples of response header fields such as HTTP/HTTPS response headerfields that can be found in the synthetic responses includecache-control, connection, accept-ranges, age, ETag, location,proxy-authenticate, retry-after, server, set-cookie, vary,WWW-authenticate, allow, content-deposition, content-encoding,content-language, content-length, content-location, content-MDS,content-range, content-type, expires, IM, link, pragma,preference-applied, public-key-pins, trailer, transfer-encoding, Tk,strict-transport-security, upgrade, X-frame-options, via, warning, andlast-modified. Additional examples and information about the responseheader fields can be found at, e.g., List of HTTP header fields,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_HTTP_header_fields&oldid=1012071227(last visited Mar. 16, 2021), which is incorporated by reference for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

Examples of Applicable Communication Protocols

The disclosed synthetic request-response mechanism can be implementedusing a variety of communication protocols. Communications protocolsdefine the basic patterns of dialogue over computer network in properdescriptions of digital and/or analog message formats as well as rules.The Synthetic Request and Synthetic Response can be implemented in thecommunication protocols capable of constructing request-responsemessaging patterns, for example, the HTTP and HTTPS protocols. The HTTP(Hypertext Transfer Protocol), HTTPS (HTTP secure) and subsequentrevisions such as HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 are the common communicationprotocols which function as a request-response protocol in theclient-server computing model.

Protocols alternative to the HTTP and the variants include the GOPHERprotocol which was an earlier content delivery protocol but wasdisplaced by HTTP in 1990s. Another HTTP alternative is the SPDYprotocol which was developed by Google and superseded by HTTP/2. Othercommunication protocols which may support applications incorporating theuse of the disclosed synthetic request-response mechanism include butnot be limited to, e.g., FTP, FTPS, IMAP, IMAPS, LDAP, LDAPS, POP3,POP3S, RTMP, RTMPS, RTSP, SCP, SFTP, SMTP, SMTPS, and TFTP.

The communication protocols used to exchange files between computers onthe Internet or a private network and implementable by the disclosedsynthetic request-response mechanism include the FTP (File TransferProtocol), FTPS (File Transfer Protocol Secure) and SFTP (SSH FileTransfer Protocol). FTPS is also known as FTP-SSL. FTP Secure is anextension to the commonly used FTP that adds support for the TLS(Transport Layer Security), and formerly the SSL (Secure Socket Layer).The SSH File Transfer Protocol (i.e., SFTP, also Secure File TransferProtocol) is an extension of the secure shell (SSH) protocol thatprovides secure file transfer capabilities and is implementable by thedisclosed synthetic request-response mechanism.

Another file transfer protocol, secure copy protocol (SCP) is a means ofsecurely transferring electronic files between a local host and a remotehost or between remote hosts and is implementable by the disclosedsynthetic request-response mechanism A client can send (upload) file toa server, optionally including their basic attributes (e.g.,permissions, timestamps). A client can also request files or directoriesfrom a server (download). Like SFTP, SCP is also based on the SecureShell (SSH) protocol that the application server has alreadyauthenticated the client and the identity of the client user isavailable to the protocol. SCP is however outdated and inflexible suchthat the more modern protocol like SFTP is recommended for file transferand is implementable by the disclosed synthetic request-responsemechanism.

The FTP and the like provide commands which, similar to the HTTP requestmethods, can be used by the network security system 104 to transmit thesynthetic requests include ACCT, ADAT, AUTH, CSID, DELE, EPRT, HOST,OPTS, QUIT, REST, SITE, XSEM. Additional information about the FTPCommands can be found, e.g., at List of FTP commands,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FTP_commands (last visited Mar.24, 2021), which is incorporated by reference for all purposes as iffully set forth herein.

A simple and lightweight file transfer protocol, Trivial File TransferProtocol (TFTP) allows clients to get a file from or put a file onto aremote host which is typically embedded device retrieving firmware,configuration, or a system image during a boot process for a tftpserver. In TFTP, a transfer is initiated by issuing a client (tftp)which issues a request to read or write a file on the server. The clientrequest can optionally include a set of parameters proposed by theclient to negotiate the transfer. The tftp client supports some commandsthat vary by the platforms. A list of tftp commands similar to HTTPrequest methods such as CONNECT, GET, PUT, QUIT, TRACE can be found athttps://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_aix_72/t_commands/tftp.html,which is incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

The communication protocols used for retrieving email (i.e., electronicmail) messages from a mail server include the IMAP (Internet MessageAccess Protocol), IMAPS (secure IMAP over the TLS or former SSL tocryptographically protect IMAP connections) as well as the earlier POP3(Post Office Protocol) and the secure variant POP3S. In addition to IMAPand POP3 which are the prevalent standard protocols for retrievingmessages, other email protocols implemented for proprietary serversinclude the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). Like HTTP and FTPprotocols, email protocols such as IMAP, POP3 and SMTP are based on theclient-server model over a reliable data stream channel, typically a TCPconnection. An email retrieval session such as a SMTP session including0 or more SMTP transactions consists of commands originated by a SMTPclient and corresponding responses from the SMTP server, so that thesession is opened, and parameters are exchanged.

Like file transfer protocols, email protocols provide commands which,similar to the HTTP request methods, can be used by the network securitysystem 104 to transmit the synthetic requests. Examples of thetext-based commands include HELO, MAIL, RCPT, DATA, NOOP, RSET, SEND,VRFY and QUIT for SMTP protocol, and commonly used commands like USER,PASS, STAT, LIST RETR, DELE, RSET, TOP and QUIT for POP3 protocol.Additional information about email protocol commands can be found atRequest for Comments (RFC Standard Track publications from the InternetSociety, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)), e.g., RFC 2821https://tools.ietforg/html/rfc2821 for SMTP Commands; RFC 3501https://tools.ietforg/html/rfc3501 for IMAP Commands; RFC 1939https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1939 for POP3 (last visited Mar. 24,2021), which are incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fullyset forth herein.

Another communication protocol which may support syntheticrequest-response paradigm is the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol(LDAP) and its secure variant LDAPS (i.e., LDAP over SSL). Thiscommunication protocol is an open, vendor neutral, industry standardapplication protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directoryinformation services over Internet network. A client starts an LDAPsession by connecting to a LDAP server over a TCP/IP connection. Theclient then sends an operation request to the server which in turn sendsa response in return. Analogous to HTTP request methods and FTPcommands, a LDAP client may request from server the followingoperations: Bind, Search, Compare, Add, Delete, Modify, Modify DN,Unbind, Abandon, and Extended. Additional information about the LDAPprotocol can be found athttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_Directory_Access_Protocol,which is incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP)and its secure variant RTMPS (RTMP over TLS/SSL) are some proprietaryprotocols for real-time streaming audio, video and data over theInternet network that are implementable by the disclosed syntheticrequest-response mechanism For example, the RTSP protocol is used forestablishing and controlling media sessions between two endpoints.Similar in some ways to HTTP, RSTP defines control sequences (referredas commands, requests or protocol directives) useful in controllingmultimedia playback. Clients of media server issue RTMP requests, suchas PLAY, RECORD and PAUSE to facilitate real-time control of streamingfrom a client to a server (Voice Recording), while some commands travelfrom a server to a client (Video on Demand) Some typical HTTP requests,e.g., the OPTIONS request, are also available in RSTP and areimplementable by the disclosed synthetic request-response mechanism.Additional information about the RTSP and its commands can be found athttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Time_Streaming_Protocol; additionalinformation about the RTMP/RTMPS can be found athttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-Time_Messaging_Protocol, which areincorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

In other implementations, the disclosed synthetic request-responsemechanism can be implemented in real-time chat/instant messaging (IM)protocols like XMPP (Jabber), YMSG, Skype, and so on. Some applicationslike Slack start out as HTTP/S and then fall into a web socket modewhere they treat the connection as a TCP connection and use a non-HTTP/Sprotocol for communication. The disclosed synthetic request-responsemechanism can be implemented using such instant messaging protocols.Additional information about such instant messaging protocols can befound at Comparison of instant messaging protocols,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?fitle=Comparison_ofinstant_messagingprotocols&oldid=1013553466 (last visited Apr. 8, 2021),which is incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully setforth herein.

Overcoming Metadata Deficiency

Portions of the specification may refer to “metadata-deficienttransactions,” “metadata-deficient requests,” “metadata-deficientapplication sessions,” and “metadata-deficient connections.” Metadatadeficiency in a transaction/request/application session/connection ischaracterized by the absence of target metadata required to make apolicy determination, and thereby to enforce a policy. Consider, forexample, a policy that requires that only corporate user credentials beused to access the cloud applications 108 and not private usercredentials. When metadata (e.g., request header fields) that typicallyspecify user credentials are missing from thetransaction/request/application session/connection, then there exists ametadata deficiency that can be overcome by the disclosed syntheticrequest injection.

The metadata deficiency may result for different reasons under differentcircumstances. Typically, CASB and SWG proxies operate in a passivemode—monitoring network traffic that pass through the proxies to extractmetadata and annotate client requests that are proxied (i.e., rerouted,or intercepted). For example, some cloud applications support multiplelogin instances, for example, a corporate instance to access GoogleDrive™ like “joeuser@companyxyz.com” and a private instance to accessGoogle Drive™ like “joeuser@gmail.com.” In such cases, the proxies maywant to annotate the client transactions, e.g., HTTP/HTTPS transactions,to Google Drive™ with a user instance ID used to initiate the clienttransactions. The proxies may be configured to persist the user instanceID for reporting purposes or to apply policies.

In order to determine the user instance ID, the proxies need to processa login transaction that contains the user instance ID. If such a logintransaction does not bypass the proxies and is intercepted, the proxiesthen need to persist the state of the login transaction, i.e., store theuser instance ID extracted from the login transaction and build amapping from the cookie and URL parameters set for that login with theinstance information.

Circumstances arise when metadata like the user instance ID is notaccessible to the proxies. For example, the proxies may have missed thelogin transaction that establishes the metadata mapping. This happens,for example, when the clients 102 are already logged into the cloudapplications 108 prior to rerouting of an application session to theproxies. As a result, the proxies do not capture the login transaction.Subsequent transactions, which follow the login transaction and arecaptured by the proxies, are not useful because they do not contain therequired metadata. In another circumstance, some cloud applications,such as native mobile applications, the transaction that establishes themetadata mapping is sent once or very infrequently, and thereforesometimes missed by the proxies.

The disclosed synthetic request injection enables the proxies toindependently retrieve the otherwise missing metadata directly from thecloud applications 108 on an ad hoc basis. The proxies no longer need tobe dependent on the metadata mapping transactions as the sole source ofmetadata. This makes the proxies self-sufficient and greatly expandstheir policy enforcement horizon.

Reducing Redundant Metadata Synchronization in a SASE Network

In a secure access service edge (SASE) network, the proxies are deployedas geographically distributed points of presence. This requires thatmetadata mappings be periodically distributed to each proxy in the SASEnetwork. The metadata mapping synchronization cycles can become asignificant computation burden and can take valuable compute resourcesaway from the core security engines of the SASE network like DLPsystems.

The disclosed synthetic request injection makes the metadata mappingsynchronization unnecessary because a proxy in the SASE network thatneeds the metadata mappings can issue the synthetic requests on an adhoc basis and receive the metadata mapping directly from the cloudapplications 108, without having to rely on and coordinate with anyother proxy in the SASE network. This way the compute resources of theproxies and the SASE network can be dedicated to the core security flowsand not wasted on redundant checkpointing and data distribution.

Reducing Metadata Storage Footprint and Building Reliable Metadata

The huge volume of the metadata mappings also makes them a significantstorage burden. Ad hoc generation of the metadata mappings using thedisclosed synthetic request injection obviates the need to persist eachand every metadata mapping, thereby reducing the storage burden of theproxies and the SASE network. Stale or expired metadata mappings can berefreshed by issuing ad hoc synthetic requests as well, thereby buildingmore reliable and up-to-date metadata mappings.

Actions

Beyond obtaining metadata information, the disclosed synthetic requestinjection can also execute actions on the cloud applications 108, forexample, on an ad hoc basis. For example, the synthetic requests can beused by the proxies to perform actions against the cloud applications108 using the original transaction's authority. In the case of inlineCASBs, this can be used to implement real-time enforcement of actionswithout a prior authorization or a prior access grant, as required without-of-band API CASBs. This also allows the inline CASBs to injectpolicy actions for unsanctioned applications for which the CASBs lackAPI connectors.

The disclosed synthetic request injection can also execute actions onresources (e.g., objects) of the cloud applications 108. For example,the synthetic requests can retrieve objects from the cloud applications108. The synthetic requests can change security configuration of theobjects on the cloud applications 108 and modify security posture of theobjects. The synthetic requests can be used to modify the securityposture of the objects, i.e., change the security configuration of theobjects, either after uploading the objects to the cloud applications108, or after downloading the objects from the cloud applications 108.For example, the synthetic requests can change the share settings of anobject from “sharing allowed” to “sharing not allowed,” or from “sharingallowed externally” to “sharing allowed only internally.” The syntheticrequests can move an object from one location to another location in thecloud applications 108, or from one cloud application to another cloudapplication, for example, when there is an active session with anothercloud application.

The information generated/retrieved by the synthetic requests can beused to block transmission of the objects to and from the cloudapplications 108. The synthetic requests can encrypt the objects beforeor after the objects arrive at the cloud applications 108. The syntheticrequests can quarantine the objects before or after the objects arriveat the cloud applications 108. The synthetic requests can extractmetadata from another request or transaction, for example, to determinethe activity being performed, to determine the user instance ID beingused, and to determine the sensitivity tag of an object. The syntheticrequests can also run inline DLP checks on the objects to determinetheir sensitivity in real-time, and responsively execute securityactions like blocking, allowing, encrypting, quarantining, coaching, andseeking justification based on the determined sensitivity.

In some implementations, transmission (or flow) of objects to or fromcloud applications can be controlled/modulated (e.g., blocked) when thesynthetic request/s is/are used to determine that the object beingmanipulated (e.g., being uploaded or downloaded) is sensitive based onthe retrieved sensitivity metadata and that the account-type from whichthe manipulation was initiated or attempted is an uncontrolled orprivate account (e.g., non-corporation instance) based on the retrievedlogin metadata. This way, a combination of login metadata andsensitivity metadata retrieved by use of one or more synthetic requestscan be used for policy enforcement. Generally speaking, metadata ofdifferent types/formats/creation dates/creation sources/storage origins,retrieved by one or more synthetic requests or retrieved from one ormore sources by one or more synthetic requests, can be analyzed in theaggregate or as a combination to make a policy enforcement decision onone or more objects.

The disclosed synthetic request injection can also in turn cause thecloud applications 108 to execute actions. For example, the syntheticrequests can cause the cloud applications 108 to crawl objects residingin the cloud applications 108 and generate an inventory of the objectsand associated metadata (e.g., an audit of share settings, collaborationnetworks, user assignments, and sensitivity statuses of the objects).The inventory can then be provided to the network security system 104 bythe corresponding synthetic response. The network security system 104can then use the inventory for policy enforcement.

Consider, for example, the Box™ storage cloud application which providesan administrative API called the Box Content API™ to provide visibilityinto an organization's accounts of its users. The synthetic requests canpoll the administrative API to discover any changes made to any of theaccounts. Alternatively, the synthetic requests can register with theadministrative API to inform the network security system 104 of anysignificant events. For example, the synthetic requests can useMicrosoft Office365 Webhooks API™ to learn when a file has been sharedexternally. In other implementations, the disclosed syntheticrequest-response mechanism can interface with user APIs, in additionto/instead of administrative APIs.

Retrieving metadata and executing actions are some examples of targetnetwork security objectives that can be achieved using the disclosedsynthetic request injection. A person skilled in the art will appreciatethat the application of the disclosed concept of configuring a networkintermediary or middleware like the network security system 104 withnetwork request-response (or request-reply) mechanism and methods toself-generate requests to satisfy a cloud security requirement may varyfrom use case-to-use case, architecture-to-architecture, anddomain-to-domain. The request-response mechanism and methods can beimplemented in various network protocols for inter-processcommunications like FTP, FTPS, GOPHER, HTTP, HTTPS, IMAP, IMAPS, LDAP,LDAPS, POP3, POP3S, RTMP, RTMPS, RTSP, SCP, SFTP, SMTP, SMTPS, SPDY andTFTP.

For example, in some implementations, the synthetic requests may not betargeted towards the cloud applications 108 and instead may be directedat other sources. In one example, the synthetic requests may be used forcommutation between different security systems of the network securitystack, in which case, the synthetic requests could be aimed at otherCASBs and SWGs in the SASE network. In another example, particularly inthe case of native apps, the synthetic requests can be sent to theclients 102 or to the cloud applications 108 as responses, for example,sending a 401 App-Expected Response as a synthetic request to retrieve amaster token from the native apps running on the clients 102. In yetanother example, the synthetic requests can be sent to the clients 102or to the cloud applications 108 to retrieve tokens, for example, toretrieve a people token from the cloud applications 108.

In yet another example, the synthetic requests can be sent to theclients 102 to convey (e.g., across a GUI) that the transaction iscompleted. For example, after an object is uploaded to the cloudapplications 108, a synthetic request can generate a GUI notification atthe clients 102 indicating that the object is uploaded.

Endpoint Devices

An “unmanaged device” is referred to as a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)and/or an off-network device whose traffic is not being tunneled throughthe network security system 104. The network security system 104analyzes the incoming traffic to determine whether the cloud applicationtransactions are made within the confines of a corporate network and/orfrom a device with a security agent or security profile installed. Adevice can be classified as an unmanaged device or as a managed devicebased on certain device characteristics collected by an endpoint routingagent (ERC). Depending on the type of device, the ERC can be a virtualprivate network (VPN) such as VPN on demand or per-app-VPN that usecertificate-based authentication. For example, for iOS™ devices, it canbe a per-app-VPN or can be a set of domain-based VPN profiles. ForAndroid™ devices, it can be a cloud director mobile app. For Windows™devices, it can be a per-app-VPN or can be a set of domain-based VPNprofiles. The ERC can also be an agent that is downloaded using e-mailor silently installed using mass deployment tools like ConfigMgr™,Altris™, and Jamf™.

The ERC collects device information such as registry key, activedirectory (AD) membership, presence of a process, operating system type,presence of a file, AD domain, encryption check, OPSWAT check, mediaaccess control (MAC) address, IMEI number, and device serial number.Based on the collected device information, the ERC classifies the deviceas unmanaged or managed. Additional or different categories can be usedto classify a device such as a semi-managed device category or anunknown device category.

For additional information regarding how the network security system 104determines whether the incoming traffic is routed from a managed deviceor an unmanaged device, reference can be made to, for example, commonlyowned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/198,499; 14/198,508;14/835,640; 14/835,632; and 62/307,305, which are incorporated byreference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

Portions of the specification may make distinctions between two types ofendpoint devices used by users to access the cloud applications 108. Theprimary distinction is between the mechanisms for coupling the endpointdevices to the network security system 104. In relation to endpointdevices, the term “computer” will refer to more open systems where thenetwork security system 104 can more directly install software andmodify the networking stack. Similarly, in relation to endpoint devices,the terms “mobile” or “tablet” will refer to more closed systems wherethe network security system options for modifying the network stack aremore limited. This terminology mirrors the situation today wherecomputer-endpoint devices running Mac OS X, Windows desktop versions,Android, and/or Linux can be more easily modified than mobile or tabletdevices running iOS, and/or Windows Mobile. Thus, the terminology refersto how third-party operating system vendor limitations are addressed toprovide access to the network security system as opposed to afundamental technical difference between the types of endpoint devices.Further, if mobile OS vendors open their systems further, it is likelythat the distinction could be eliminated with more classes of endpointdevices. Additionally, it can be the case that certain server computersand other computing devices within an organization can have the clientinstalled to cover machine-to-machine communications.

A closely related point is that some clients interface with the networksecurity system 104 differently. The browser add-on clients or PAC(proxy auto-configuration) files, for example, redirect the browsers toan explicit proxy. Only the traffic needed to apply the policy to isrerouted and it is done so within the application. The traffic arrivingat the network security system 104 can have the user identity embeddedin the data or within the secure tunnel headers, e.g., additionalheaders or SSL client side certificates. Other clients redirect selectnetwork traffic through transparent proxies. For these connections, sometraffic beyond exactly those requests needed by the policy can be routedto the network security system 104. Further, the user identityinformation is generally not within the data itself, but ratherestablished by the client in setting up a secure tunnel to the networksecurity system 104.

The interconnection between the clients 102, the network security system104, and the cloud applications 108 will now be described. A publicnetwork couples the clients 102, the network security system 104, andthe cloud applications 108, all in communication with each other. Theactual communication path can be point-to-point over public and/orprivate networks. Some items, such as the ERC, might be deliveredindirectly, e.g., via an application store. The communications can occurover a variety of networks, e.g., private networks, VPN, MPLS circuit,or Internet, and can use appropriate application programming interfaces(APIs) and data interchange formats, e.g., Representational StateTransfer (REST), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), Extensible MarkupLanguage (XML), Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), Java MessageService (JMS), and/or Java Platform Module System. All of thecommunications can be encrypted. The communication is generally over anetwork such as the LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network),telephone network (Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP), wireless network, point-to-point network,star network, token ring network, hub network, Internet, inclusive ofthe mobile Internet, via protocols such as EDGE, 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, andWiMAX. Additionally, a variety of authorization and authenticationtechniques, such as username/password, Open Authorization (OAuth),Kerberos, SecureID, digital certificates and more, can be used to securethe communications.

Policy

The term “policy,” sometimes also referred to as a policy definition orpolicy data or content policy refers to a machine-readablerepresentation of flow control and content control requirements for thecloud applications 108. Typically, a policy is defined by one or moreadministrators at a corporation, or other entity, and is enforced uponusers within that corporation, or entity. It is possible for individualsto define policies for their own usage that are enforced upon them;however, corporate usage is the more common case. It is also possiblefor a policy to be enforced on visitors or customers of a cloudapplication, e.g., where a corporation hosts or subscribes to a cloudapplication and requires visiting customers, users, or employees toadhere to the policy for use. Of particular note is that the policiesconsidered herein are capable of being sensitive to the semantics of acloud application, which is to say a policy can differentiate betweenlogging in to a cloud application from, say, editing documents on thecloud application.

Context is important for understanding usage; for an entity, thecollection of dozens or hundreds of individual policies (e.g., log bulkdownloads, prohibit editing documents on the service, only allow bulkdownloads for users who are in the “Vice President” group) is referredto singularly as one policy or one policy definition. Thus, a systemsupporting multiple entities will generally have one policy per entity,each made up of dozens or hundreds of individual flow control andcontent control policies. Similarly, the policy that is transferred toindividual computers can be a subset of a full corporate policy, e.g.,solely a machine-readable representation of the URLs of interest, asopposed to the full policy specification for each URL describing theflow control and/or content manipulations.

A “multi-part policy” refers to a policy that specifies triggering of atleast one security action when at least one condition about thetransaction is met. A multi-part policy applies to a single transaction,but at least one policy condition of the multi-part policy requiresevaluation of data or metadata not available in the single transaction.Also, a multi-part policy applies to a single transaction, but at leastone policy condition of the multi-part policy requires evaluation ofdata or metadata available in an external data or metadata store.Further, a multi-part policy applies to a single transaction, but atleast one policy condition of the multi-part policy requires evaluationof data or metadata generated by an external engine. A multi-part policyapplies in real-time during active analysis, but at least one policycondition of the multi-part policy requires evaluation of data ormetadata collected in deferred time or during non-real-time inspection.Examples of multi-part policies include “prevent user formuploading/downloading, if user is at risk as indicated by anomalydetection,” “prevent sharing of a file, if file is sensitive,” “preventdownload of a file to a device, if the device is at risk as indicated bya malware detection engine,” “prevent deletion of a virtual machine, ifthe virtual machine is a critical server,” and others.

Metadata Retrieval

FIG. 1 shows one implementation of the network security system 104issuing a synthetic request during an application session of a cloudapplication to retrieve metadata that is otherwise missing from theapplication session. In FIG. 1 , a client issues an authenticationrequest 122 to log into a cloud application. The authentication request122 provides a metadata mapping. The metadata mapping specifies a logininstance (e.g., an email identified by “from-user” or “instance-id”information) used by the client to access the cloud application. Theauthentication request 122 also includes an authentication token thatthe client uses to access the cloud application. Successfulauthentication 138 results in the establishment 114 of an applicationsession 144.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the authentication request 122 bypasses thenetwork security system 104. The bypass can be due to a variety ofreasons, some of which are discussed above. More importantly, the bypassresults in the network security system 104 not able to capture themetadata mapping. This presents itself as a technical problem becausecertain security policies are based on the “from-user” or “instance-id”information.

Eventually though, the client is rerouted to the network security system104, for example, by an endpoint routing client (ERC), such as a browseradd-in or an agent running on the client. When this happens, from thereonwards, the application session 144 is intermediated by the networksecurity system 104 and subsequent requests from the client areintercepted by the network security system 104. In otherimplementations, the application session 144 comes under the ambit ofthe network security system 104 when an incoming request 152 is sent bythe client towards the cloud application and rerouted to the networksecurity system 104 for policy enforcement. Most commonly, the incomingrequest 152 is a client request of a communication protocol, e.g.,HTTP/HTTPS client request that attempts to execute an applicationactivity transaction on the cloud application. The communicationprotocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, IMAP, SNMP and SNTP define the basicpatterns of dialogue which support request-response messaging patternsand commonly operate in an application layer.

Upon receiving the incoming request 152 during the application session144, the network security system 104 determines 154 whether it hasaccess to metadata required to enforce a security policy on the incomingrequest 152. In one implementation, this determination is made byinspecting a transaction header (e.g., HTTP and HTTPS headers) of theincoming request 152 and probing whether certain fields and variablessupply the required metadata. In another implementation, thisdetermination is made by looking up a metadata mapping store (e.g., aRedis in-memory cache) and inquiring whether there already exists ametadata mapping associated with an application session identifier(“app-session-ID”) of the application session 144. In the scenarioillustrated in FIG. 1 , both these evaluations would reveal that therequired metadata is missing because the authentication request 122 thatprovided the metadata mapping was never captured by the network securitysystem 104.

Accordingly, when the network security system 104 determines that itdoes not have access to the required metadata, it holds 164 the incomingrequest 152 and does not transmit it to the cloud application. Then, thenetwork security system 104 generates a synthetic request 168 andinjects the synthetic request 168 into the application session 144 totransmit the synthetic request 168 to the cloud application. Thesynthetic request 168 is configured to retrieve the missing metadatafrom the cloud application by inducing an application server of thecloud application to generate a response that includes the missingmetadata. The network security system 104 configures the syntheticrequest 168 with the authentication token supplied by the incomingrequest 152 so that the synthetic request 168 can access the cloudapplication.

The network security system 104 then receives a synthetic response 176to the synthetic request 168 from the cloud application. The syntheticresponse 176 supplies the missing metadata 178 to the network securitysystem 104. The network security system 104 then uses the metadata 178for metadata-based policy enforcement 184. For example, if the metadata178 specifies that the login instance was from a controlled account(e.g., a corporate email), then the network security system 104 releasesthe incoming request 152 and transmits 186 it to the cloud application.In contrast, if the metadata 178 specifies that the login instance wasfrom an uncontrolled account (e.g., a private email), then the networksecurity system 104 blocks the incoming request 152 and does nottransmit it to the cloud application, or, in other implementations,alters the end user that a policy enforcement has prevented the activityfrom being completed.

The discussion now turns to some example implementations of how, indifferent scenarios, the network security system 104 constructs thesynthetic requests and retrieves metadata from the synthetic responses.A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosed syntheticrequest injection is not limited to these example implementations. Theremay exist, now and in future, other ways of implementing the disclosedsynthetic request injection. This disclosure may not explicitlyenumerate these other ways. Still, these other ways are within the scopeof this disclosure because the intended purpose of the disclosedsynthetic request injection is to enforce and improve network security.Variants of this intended purpose may be realized in different ways indifferent network architectures without deviating from the disclosedconcept of configuring a network intermediary or middleware like thenetwork security system 104 with network request/response(request-reply) mechanism and methods to self-generate requests toachieve a variety of network security objectives.

Synthetic Listener Mode

FIG. 2 depicts a synthetic listener mode of injecting a syntheticrequest in an application session of a cloud application and extractingmetadata from a corresponding synthetic response in accordance with oneimplementation of the technology disclosed. In some implementations ofthe synthetic listener mode, the network security system 104 usesapplication-specific parsers (or connectors) and synthetic templates toconstruct the synthetic requests and extract the metadata-of-interestfrom the synthetic responses.

FIG. 2 shows many instances 104A-N of the network security system 104. Adata flow logic 202, running to the network security system 104, injectsthe incoming request 152 to a processing path of a particular instance104C of the network security system 104. In one implementation, theparticular instance 104C of the network security system 104 passes theincoming request 152 to a service thread 204. The service thread 204holds the incoming request 152 and instructs a client URL (cURL) utilitythread 206 to initiate a cURL request (operation 1). Additionalinformation about the cURL requests can be found at, e.g., The Art OfScripting HTTP Requests Using Curl,https://curl.se/docs/httpscripting.html (last visited Mar. 17, 2021) andCURL, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CURL&oldid=1002535730(last visited Mar. 18, 2021), which are incorporated by reference forall purposes as if fully set forth herein.

The cURL utility thread 206 injects the cURL request into a syntheticlistener mode 214 (operation 2). The synthetic listener mode 214 selectsan application-specific parser 222 that is specific to the cloudapplication targeted by the incoming request 152 (e.g., by identifyingthe cloud application as a resource from a URL parameter or an HTTPrequest header field of the incoming request 152). Theapplication-specific parser 222 specifies match conditions that arespecific to request and response syntaxes defined for a particularapplication programming interface (API) of the cloud application.

The application-specific parser 222 implements a DAPII (Deep ApplicationProgramming Interface Inspection), e,g., HTTP/DAPII request processing236, which uses a synthetic template to determine whether themetadata-of-interest is missing from the application session 144. Whenthe metadata-of-interest is found to be missing, the synthetic templateconstructs a synthetic request using headers, fields, values, andparameters defined with syntax that elicits the metadata-of-interestfrom an application server 248 of the cloud application. At operation 3,the constructed synthetic request is sent to the application server 248.

At operation 4, a synthetic response from the application server 248 isrouted to the synthetic listener mode 214. In some implementations, thesynthetic response is processed by a service thread (not shown). Theapplication-specific parser 222 implements an HTTP/DAPII responseprocessing 254 to extract the metadata-of-interest from the syntheticresponse. The extracted metadata (e.g., the “from-user” or “instance-id”information) is stored in a metadata store 264 (at operation 5) for usein policy enforcement. At operation 6, a cURL response is sent back tothe cURL utility thread 206, which in turn sends back a response to theservice thread 204 (at operation 7). The service thread 204 thenreleases the held incoming request 152.

Synthetic Templates

As discussed above, the synthetic requests are constructed by synthetictemplates of application-specific parsers, according to oneimplementation of the technology disclosed. A particularapplication-specific parser of a cloud application can have a set ofsynthetic templates. Respective synthetic templates in the set ofsynthetic templates can correspond to respective activities, forexample, one synthetic template for upload activities, synthetictemplate for download activities, and yet another synthetic template forshare activities. The set of synthetic templates can include a defaultsynthetic template for generic activities (e.g., login, log-outs). Theset of synthetic templates can also include a specialized synthetictemplate for native apps running on endpoints (e.g., mobiles,computers).

FIG. 3 shows one implementation of a processing path that generatessynthetic requests using application-specific parsers and synthetictemplates. In FIG. 3 , a parser selection logic 312 selects a particularapplication-specific parser 322C from a plurality ofapplication-specific parsers 322A-N. The particular application-specificparser 322C is specific to the cloud application targeted by theincoming request 152. The parser selection logic 312 determines that theincoming request 152 is directed to the cloud application because aresource of the cloud application is specified by a URL parameter or arequest header field of the incoming request 152 of a communicationprotocol (e.g., FTP, FTPS, GOPHER, HTTP, HTTPS, IMAP, IMAPS, LDAP,LDAPS, POP3, POP3S, RTMP, RTMPS, RTSP, SCP, SFTP, SMTP, SMTPS, SPDY andTFTP). The parser selection logic 312 then invokes the particularapplication-specific parser 322C. In some implementations, when noapplication-specific parser is available for a given cloud application,the parser selection logic 312 can select a universal parser that, forexample, applies to an entire category of cloud applications (e.g.,social media sites, messenger apps, blogs).

A template selection logic 332 selects a particular synthetic templatefrom a set of synthetic templates 0-N of the particularapplication-specific parser 322C. In one implementation, the templateselection logic 332 uses if-then-else rules and match conditions toselect the particular synthetic template. For example, if themetadata-of-interest is available, then the synthetic listener mode isexited and normal processing of the incoming request 152 resumed. If themetadata-of-interest is missing and the activity is a generic activity(e.g., a login event), then a default synthetic template is used toconstruct the synthetic request. If the metadata-of-interest is missingand the activity is a particular activity (e.g., an upload event), thena specialized synthetic template that is specific to the particularactivity is used to construct the synthetic request. If themetadata-of-interest is missing and the cloud application is a nativeapp, then a specialized synthetic template that is specific to nativeapps is used to construct the synthetic request. Also, in someimplementations, the synthetic templates are defined as JSON files.

Once the particular synthetic template of the particularapplication-specific parser 322C is selected, a metadata detection logic342 of the particular synthetic template can determine whether relevantfields, variables, events, or parameters of the incoming request 152 ora metadata-mapping store contain the metadata-of-interest. If not, asynthetic request generation logic 352 of the particular synthetictemplate can construct the synthetic request by configuring thoserequest header fields that elicit a response from the application serverof the cloud application which supplies the metadata-of-interest. Insome implementations, the synthetic request generation logic 352 usessome of the fields, variables, events, or parameters that are part ofthe incoming request 152 to construct the synthetic request.

A synthetic response parsing logic 362 of the particular synthetictemplate can parse response header fields and content body of thesynthetic response to extract the metadata-of-interest. Alternatively,the metadata extraction can be done directly by the particularapplication-specific parser 322C, without using the particular synthetictemplate.

Processing Flow

FIG. 4 shows one implementation of a processing flow that generates anexample synthetic request. The steps illustrated in FIG. 4 can beexecuted on server-side or client-side. At step 402, a clienttransaction requesting interaction with a cloud application isintercepted. At step 412, an application-specific parser specific to thecloud application is invoked. At step 422, the application-specificparser processes the client transaction and determines an activity beingperformed by the client transaction.

At step 432, a particular synthetic template is selected that isspecific to the cloud application and the determined activity. At step442, the particular synthetic template determines that themetadata-of-interest required to process the client transaction ismissing. At step 452, the particular synthetic template is used togenerate and inject a synthetic request 462. The synthetic request 462uses a method, e.g., HTTP GET method 454, has a URL 456, has a fixedheader 464 like user-agent, and has a custom header 466 with cookie data468 like SID, SSID, HSID, and OSID.

At step 472, a synthetic response is received to the synthetic request462. At step 482, the metadata-of-interest 492 is retrieved from thesynthetic response. At step 494, the retrieved metadata 492 is used forpolicy enforcement on the client transaction.

Native Apps

FIG. 5 shows one implementation of using bi-directional syntheticrequests for native apps. When the network security system 104determines 526 that the cloud application is a native app, the networksecurity system 104 first determines 528 whether a master token ismissing from the transaction. If so, the network security system 104issues a first synthetic request to the client in the form of a 401App-Expected Response 532. In response, the client provides a mastertoken 542 to the network security system 104. FIG. 6 shows exampledetails of the 401 App-Expected Response 532.

The network security system 104 then determines 544 whether a peopletoken is missing from the transaction. If so, the network securitysystem 104 issues a second synthetic request to the cloud application inthe form of a people token request 546. In response, the cloudapplication provides a people token 548 to the network security system104. FIG. 7 shows example details of the people token request 546.

The network security system 104 then uses the people token 548 to issuea third synthetic request 568 to the cloud application. FIG. 8 showsexample details of the third synthetic request 568. The network securitysystem 104 then receives the synthetic response 576 that supplies themetadata 578. The network security system 104 then uses the suppliedmetadata 578 for the policy enforcement 584. Then, the network securitysystem 104 releases the flow 586 to transmit the incoming request 152 tothe cloud application.

In some implementations, when the master token 542 is not missing, thenetwork security system 104 does not issue the 401 App-Expected Response532 to the client, and instead directly issues the people token request546 to the cloud application. Similarly, when both the master token 542and the people token 548 are not missing, the network security system104 directly issues the synthetic request 568 to the cloud application.

Side Car Service

FIG. 9 shows one implementation of a side car service 902 that is sharedby the multiple instances 104A-N of the network security system 104 toimplement the synthetic listener mode 214 and generate the syntheticrequests. The side car service 902 can be considered a hypervisor (or aseparate container) that runs in a data center as a containerizedservice servicing the multiple instances 104A-N of the network securitysystem 104. Multiple instances of the side car service 902 can servicethe multiple instances 104A-N of the network security system 104 too.

Proxy Handoff in SASE Network

FIG. 10 shows an example secure access service edge (SASE) network 1000with a plurality of geographically distributed points of presence 1-7.In some implementations, each of the points of presence in FIG. 10 canbe considered a data center that includes the multiple instances 104A-Nof the network security system 104 and other necessary infrastructure.In other implementations, each of the points of presence in FIG. 10 canbe considered a respective instance of the network security system 104.Also, as shown in FIG. 10 , each of the points of presence 1-7 can beconfigured with an inline metadata generation logic 1002.

As discussed above, the metadata mappings need to be periodicallysynchronized between the points of presence 1-7, posing a technicalburden of redundant data distribution. FIG. 11 shows one implementationof the disclosed synthetic request injection overcoming this technicalburden. In particular, FIG. 11 shows one implementation of use of thesynthetic requests in a proxy handoff situation.

In FIG. 11 , during the application session 144, a first point ofpresence 1 intercepts a metadata-generating event 1102 during theapplication session 144. The metadata-generating event 1102 is triggeredby an incoming request 1104. The first point of presence 1 performsmetadata extraction 1106 on the incoming request 1104, extracts metadata1108, and stores the extracted metadata 1108 in a metadata store 1190local to the first point of presence 1 and not accessible to otherpoints of presence in the SASE network 1000.

Later, a proxy handoff 1110 occurs that routes the application session144 and the incoming request 1104 to a second point of presence 2different from the first point of presence 1. Since the second point ofpresence 2 did not capture the incoming request 1104, it does not haveaccess to the metadata 1108, i.e., the metadata 1108 is missing 1114from the second point of presence 2. However, the second point ofpresence 2 now needs to execute a policy-enforcement requiring event1112 that requires the metadata 1108. Meanwhile, the incoming request1104 is kept held.

To independently retrieve the metadata 1108 from the cloud application,an inline metadata generation logic 1002 of the second point of presence2 issues the synthetic request 168 to the cloud application. The secondpoint of presence 2 then receives the synthetic response 176 thatsupplies the metadata 1108. The second point of presence 2 then uses thesupplied metadata 1108 for the policy enforcement 184. Then, the secondpoint of presence 2 releases the flow 1186 to transmit the incomingrequest 1104 to the cloud application. In other implementations, theincoming request 1104 is blocked and not transmitted to the cloudapplication.

Object Metadata

FIG. 12 shows one implementation of using synthetic requests to retrieveobject metadata from cloud applications. In FIG. 12 , an incomingrequest 1204 is intercepted by the network security system 104. Theincoming request 1204 includes an object identifier 1206 of a targetobject resident at the cloud application. The network security system104 detects 1208 the object identifier 1206 from the incoming request1204 (e.g., from the HTTP request header). The network security system104 then configures a synthetic request with the object identifier 1206and issues the synthetic request to the cloud application. The syntheticrequest is configured to retrieve object metadata 1214 about the targetobject from the cloud application using the object identifier 1206.Examples of the object metadata 1214 include object name, object size,object type, and object sensitivity.

Then, a synthetic response 1212 is received by the network securitysystem 104. The synthetic response 1212 supplies the object metadata1214 to the network security system 104. Then, the network securitysystem 104 uses the supplied object metadata 1214 for policy enforcement1284, for example, on the held incoming request 1204. In someimplementations, the network security system 104 releases the flow 1298to transmit the incoming request 1204 to the cloud application. In otherimplementations, the incoming request 1204 is blocked and nottransmitted to the cloud application.

FIG. 13 shows one implementation of a succeeding synthetic request beingissued to a client to convey object metadata, generated by a precedingsynthetic request. In FIG. 13 , the object metadata 1214, generated bythe preceding synthetic request 1210, is sent by the network securitysystem 104 to the client using a succeeding synthetic request 1302. Oneexample of the object metadata 1214 conveyed to the client by thesucceeding synthetic request 1302 includes notification about completionof a transaction like an upload or a download. The notification servesas a confirmation, for example, via a GUI that the requested transactionwas successful.

FIG. 14 shows one implementation of using the synthetic requests toretrieve objects from the cloud applications 108. In such animplementation, the synthetic response 1212 supplies the target object1402 to the network security system 104 from the cloud application.Also, the policy enforcement 1412 is then on the object 1402 itself, forexample, running DLP checks on the object 1402 for sensitivitydetermination, in addition to or instead of being on the held incomingrequest 1204. In some implementations, based on the results of thepolicy enforcement 1412, the network security system 104 releases theflow 1422 to transmit the incoming request 1204 to the cloudapplication. In other implementations, the incoming request 1204 isblocked and not transmitted to the cloud application.

Expired Metadata

FIG. 15 shows one implementation of using synthetic requests to retrievea fresh version of expired metadata. In FIG. 15 , during the applicationsession 144, an incoming request 1504 is intercepted by the networksecurity system 104. The network security system 104 performs metadataextraction 1506 on the incoming request 1504, extracts metadata 1508,and stores the extracted metadata 1508 in the metadata store 264 for anexpiration window 1510. The expiration window 1510 terminates with atimeout event 1512 after a certain time period (e.g., after fifteenminutes or after two days). After the expiration window 1510, themetadata 1508 becomes stale (e.g., is removed from the metadata store264) and is therefore unavailable to the network security system 104.The original incoming request 1504 that provided the metadata 1508 canbe transmitted 1514 to the cloud application.

When a further incoming request 1516 that lacks the metadata 1508required for policy enforcement is intercepted by the network securitysystem 104, the network security system 104 determines 1518 that therequired metadata 1508 is neither provided by the further incomingrequest 1516 nor present in the metadata store 264 anymore. Toindependently get access to a fresh version of the metadata 1508, thenetwork security system 104 injects the synthetic request 168, receivesa fresh metadata-supplying synthetic response 176, uses the suppliedfresh metadata 1508 for policy enforcement 184, and releases the heldfurther incoming request 1516 for transmission 1586 to the cloudapplication, in some implementations. In other implementations, thefurther incoming request 1516 is blocked and not transmitted to thecloud application.

Security Posture Modification

FIG. 16 shows one implementation of using synthetic requests to modifysecurity postures of objects residing in the cloud applications 108. InFIG. 16 , during the application session 144, an incoming request 1604is intercepted by the network security system 104. The incoming request1604 attempts to upload an object 1606 on the cloud application. Aftersubjecting the object 1606 to policy enforcement 1608, in oneimplementation, the object 1606 is uploaded 1610 to the cloudapplication.

A supplemental synthetic request 1612 is issued by the network securitysystem 104 to modify 1614 a security posture of the uploaded object1606. Examples of modifying the security posture of the uploaded object1606 include changing security configurations of the uploaded object1606 on the cloud application, for example, changing the share settingsof the uploaded object 1606 on the cloud application from “sharingallowed” to “sharing not allowed,” or from “sharing allowed externally”to “sharing allowed only internally.” Examples of modifying the securityposture of the uploaded object 1606 include moving the uploaded object1606 from one location to another location in the cloud application, orfrom the cloud application to another cloud application. Examples ofmodifying the security posture of the uploaded object 1606 includechanging a sensitivity status of the uploaded object 1606 on the cloudapplication from “not sensitive” to “sensitive.” In otherimplementations, the synthetic requests can be used to modify anyinformation or metadata about the uploaded object 1606, or apreviously-residing object on the cloud application.

Login Event Disambiguation

FIG. 17 shows one implementation of using synthetic requests todisambiguate a login event that bypassed the network security system104. In FIG. 17 , the instance metadata 178, generated by the syntheticrequest 168 and supplied by the synthetic response 176, is used by thenetwork security system 104 to determine whether the original loginevent 122, which bypassed by the network security system 104, and/or theincoming request 152, which was intercepted by the network securitysystem 104, emanated from a controlled account or an uncontrolledaccount.

If the instance metadata 178 specifies that the original login event 122and/or the incoming request 152 emanated from a controlled account likea corporate email, the incoming request 152 is transmitted 1722 to thecloud application. Alternatively, if the instance metadata 178 specifiesthat the original login event 122 and/or the incoming request 152emanated from an uncontrolled account like a personal email, theincoming request 152 is blocked 1724 and not transmitted to the cloudapplication.

Parallel Synthetic Requests

FIG. 18 shows one implementation of issuing multiple synthetic requestsduring an application session. In FIG. 18 , during the applicationsession 144, multiple incoming requests 1810A-N can be held and unheldby the network security system 104 in parallel or in sequence inresponse to the network security system 104 issuing multiplecorresponding synthetic requests 1812A-N in parallel or in sequence,and/or the network security system 104 receiving multiple correspondingsynthetic responses 1814A-N in parallel or in sequence.

Synthetic Requests for Future Incoming Requests

FIG. 19 shows one implementation of issuing a synthetic request tosynthetically harvest/generate/garner metadata for policy enforcement onyet-to-be received future incoming requests. In FIG. 19 , a firstincoming request 1952 is intercepted by the network security system 104.The network security system 104 determines 1954 that the first incomingrequest 1952 fails to supply the metadata required for policyenforcement. Despite this, the network security system 104 does not holdthe first incoming request 1952 and sends 1958 it to the cloudapplication.

To make the metadata available for future incoming requests, the networksecurity system 104 generates a synthetic request 1968 and injects 1964it into the application session 144 to transmit the synthetic request1968 to the cloud application. In response, the network security system104 receives a synthetic response 1976 that supplies the requiredmetadata 1978.

From there onwards, when the network security system 104 receivessubsequent incoming requests 1982A-N, the network security system 104uses the synthetically harvested/generated/garnered metadata 1978 toperform policy enforcement 1984 on the subsequent incoming requests1982A-N.

Computer System

FIG. 20 shows an example computer system 2000 that can be used toimplement the technology disclosed. Computer system 2000 includes atleast one central processing unit (CPU) 2072 that communicates with anumber of peripheral devices via bus subsystem 2055. These peripheraldevices can include a storage subsystem 2010 including, for example,memory devices and a file storage subsystem 2036, user interface inputdevices 2038, user interface output devices 2076, and a networkinterface subsystem 2074. The input and output devices allow userinteraction with computer system 2000. Network interface subsystem 2074provides an interface to outside networks, including an interface tocorresponding interface devices in other computer systems.

In one implementation, the network security system 104 is communicablylinked to the storage subsystem 2010 and the user interface inputdevices 2038.

User interface input devices 2038 can include a keyboard; pointingdevices such as a mouse, trackball, touchpad, or graphics tablet; ascanner; a touch screen incorporated into the display; audio inputdevices such as voice recognition systems and microphones; and othertypes of input devices. In general, use of the term “input device” isintended to include all possible types of devices and ways to inputinformation into computer system 2000.

User interface output devices 2076 can include a display subsystem, aprinter, a fax machine, or non-visual displays such as audio outputdevices. The display subsystem can include an LED display, a cathode raytube (CRT), a flat-panel device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD),a projection device, or some other mechanism for creating a visibleimage. The display subsystem can also provide a non-visual display suchas audio output devices. In general, use of the term “output device” isintended to include all possible types of devices and ways to outputinformation from computer system 2000 to the user or to another machineor computer system.

Storage subsystem 2010 stores programming and data constructs thatprovide the functionality of some or all of the modules and methodsdescribed herein. These software modules are generally executed byprocessors 2078.

Processors 2078 can be graphics processing units (GPUs),field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), and/or coarse-grained reconfigurable architectures(CGRAs). Processors 2078 can be hosted by a deep learning cloud platformsuch as Google Cloud Platform™, Xilinx™ and Cirrascale™. Examples ofprocessors 2078 include Google's Tensor Processing Unit (TPU)™,rackmount solutions like GX4 Rackmount Series™, GX20 Rackmount Series™,NVIDIA DGX-1™, Microsoft' Stratix V FPGA™, Graphcore's IntelligentProcessor Unit (IPU)™, Qualcomm's Zeroth Platform™ with Snapdragonprocessors™, NVIDIA's Volta™, NVIDIA's DRIVE PX™, NVIDIA's JETSONTX1/TX2 MODULE™, Intel's Nirvana™, Movidius VPU™, Fujitsu DPI™, ARM'sDynamicIQ™, IBM TrueNorth™, Lambda GPU Server with Testa V100s™, andothers.

Memory subsystem 2022 used in the storage subsystem 2010 can include anumber of memories including a main random access memory (RAM) 2032 forstorage of instructions and data during program execution and a readonly memory (ROM) 2034 in which fixed instructions are stored. A filestorage subsystem 2036 can provide persistent storage for program anddata files, and can include a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive alongwith associated removable media, a CD-ROM drive, an optical drive, orremovable media cartridges. The modules implementing the functionalityof certain implementations can be stored by file storage subsystem 2036in the storage subsystem 2010, or in other machines accessible by theprocessor.

Bus subsystem 2055 provides a mechanism for letting the variouscomponents and subsystems of computer system 2000 communicate with eachother as intended. Although bus subsystem 2055 is shown schematically asa single bus, alternative implementations of the bus subsystem can usemultiple busses.

Computer system 2000 itself can be of varying types including a personalcomputer, a portable computer, a workstation, a computer terminal, anetwork computer, a television, a mainframe, a server farm, awidely-distributed set of loosely networked computers, or any other dataprocessing system or user device. Due to the ever-changing nature ofcomputers and networks, the description of computer system 2000 depictedin FIG. 20 is intended only as a specific example for purposes ofillustrating the preferred implementations of the present invention.Many other configurations of computer system 2000 are possible havingmore or less components than the computer system depicted in FIG. 20 .

Particular Implementations

The technology disclosed configures network security systems with theability to trigger synthetic requests during application sessions ofcloud applications. The technology disclosed can be practiced as asystem, method, or article of manufacture. One or more features of animplementation can be combined with the base implementation.Implementations that are not mutually exclusive are taught to becombinable. One or more features of an implementation can be combinedwith other implementations. This disclosure periodically reminds theuser of these options. Omission from some implementations of recitationsthat repeat these options should not be taken as limiting thecombinations taught in the preceding sections—these recitations arehereby incorporated forward by reference into each of the followingimplementations.

The implementations described in this section can be combined asfeatures. In the interest of conciseness, the combinations of featuresare not individually enumerated and are not repeated with each base setof features. The reader will understand how features identified in theimplementations described in this section can readily be combined withsets of base features identified as implementations in other sections ofthis application. These implementations are not meant to be mutuallyexclusive, exhaustive, or restrictive; and the technology disclosed isnot limited to these implementations but rather encompasses all possiblecombinations, modifications, and variations within the scope of theclaimed technology and its equivalents.

In various implementations of the technology disclosed, an object may bea file, a folder, a node, a resource, an AWS bucket, a GCP bucket, ablob bucket, and similar equivalents.

1) Synthetic Request Injection to Generate Metadata for Cloud PolicyEnforcement

In one implementation, the technology disclosed describes a system. Thesystem comprises a network security system interposed between clientsand cloud applications. The network security system is configured toreceive from a client an incoming request to access a cloud applicationin an application session, i.e., a target cloud application targeted bythe incoming request.

The network security system is further configured to analyze theincoming request and detect absence of at least some metadata requiredto enforce a security policy on the incoming request.

The network security system is further configured to hold the incomingrequest, generate a synthetic request, and inject the synthetic requestinto the application session to transmit the synthetic request to thecloud application. The synthetic request is configured to retrieveotherwise absent metadata from the cloud application.

The network security system is further configured to receive a responseto the synthetic request from the cloud application. The responsesupplies the otherwise absent metadata.

The network security system is further configured to use the otherwiseabsent metadata to enforce the security policy on the incoming request.

In one implementation of the system, the synthetic request is generatedby the network security system and not found in the incoming requestfrom the client.

In one implementation of the system, the otherwise absent metadatasupplied by the response identifies a login instance used by theincoming request to access the cloud application as being a controlledaccount or an uncontrolled account.

In one implementation of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to fulfill the incoming request if the login instanceis the controlled account. The controlled account is a corporateaccount.

In another implementation of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to block the incoming request if the login instanceis the uncontrolled account. The uncontrolled account is a privateaccount.

In one implementation of the system, the incoming request attempts toupload an object to the cloud application. In some implementations ofthe system, the synthetic request is further configured to retrieve,from the cloud application, the otherwise absent metadata thatidentifies whether the object is sensitive or not. In someimplementations of the system, the network security system is furtherconfigured to block upload of the object to the cloud application if theobject is sensitive. In other implementations of the system, the networksecurity system is further configured to upload the object to the cloudapplication if the object is not sensitive.

In one implementation of the system, the synthetic request is furtherconfigured to retrieve, from the cloud application, the otherwise absentmetadata that identifies user information of a user who caused theclient to issue the incoming request. The user information is from-userinformation.

In one implementation of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to receive a response to the synthetic request fromthe cloud application. The response supplies a user profile page thatincludes the user information.

In one implementation of the system, the synthetic request is furtherconfigured to retrieve the otherwise absent metadata from a metadatastore independent of the cloud application. In some implementations ofthe system, the network security system is further configured to receivea response to the synthetic request from the metadata store. Theresponse supplies the otherwise absent metadata.

In one implementation of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to extract an authorization token from the incomingrequest, and to configure the synthetic request with the authorizationtoken to cause the synthetic request to access the cloud application.

In one implementation of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to use an application-specific parser (connector)specific to the cloud application to inspect the incoming request anddetect the otherwise absent metadata. In some implementations of thesystem, the application-specific parser specifies match conditions thatare specific to request and response syntaxes defined for a particularapplication programming interface (API) of the cloud application. Insome implementations of the system, the match conditions are configuredto specify which fields and variables in requests directed to a user APIare configured to contain the metadata, and to extract the otherwiseabsent metadata from responses generated by the particular API.

In one implementation of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to use an application-specific template of theapplication-specific parser to construct the synthetic request. In someimplementations of the system, the application-specific templatespecifies parameters to include in the synthetic request. The parametersare specific to the request and response syntaxes. The parameters areconfigured to cause the cloud application to generate responses thatcontain the otherwise absent metadata

In one implementation of the system, the parameters include a unifiedresource locator (URL). In another implementation of the system, theparameters include a set of header fields. In yet another implementationof the system, header fields in the set of header fields include fieldsfrom the incoming request. In yet further implementation of the system,the parameters include a response body.

In another implementation, the technology disclosed describes acomputer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includes anetwork security system receiving from a client an incoming request toaccess a cloud application in an application session. The networksecurity system is interposed between clients and cloud applications.The computer-implemented method further includes the network securitysystem analyzing the incoming request and detecting absence of at leastsome metadata required to enforce a security policy on the incomingrequest.

The computer-implemented method further includes the network securitysystem holding the incoming request, generating a synthetic request, andinjecting the synthetic request into the application session andtransmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application. Thesynthetic request is configured to retrieve otherwise absent metadatafrom the cloud application.

The computer-implemented method further includes the network securitysystem receiving a response to the synthetic request from the cloudapplication. The response supplies the otherwise absent metadata

The computer-implemented method further includes the network securitysystem using the otherwise absent metadata to enforce the securitypolicy on the incoming request.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the syntheticrequest is generated by the network security system and not found in theincoming request from the client.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the otherwiseabsent metadata supplied by the response identifies a login instanceused by the incoming request to access the cloud application as being acontrolled account or an uncontrolled account.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe network security system fulfilling the incoming request if the logininstance is the controlled account. The controlled account is acorporate account.

In another implementation, the computer-implemented method furtherincludes the network security system blocking the incoming request ifthe login instance is the uncontrolled account. The uncontrolled accountis a private account.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the incomingrequest attempts to upload an object to the cloud application. In someimplementations of the computer-implemented method, the syntheticrequest is further configured to retrieve, from the cloud application,the otherwise absent metadata that identifies whether the object issensitive or not. In some implementations of the computer-implementedmethod, the computer-implemented method further includes the networksecurity system blocking upload of the object to the cloud applicationif the object is sensitive. In other implementations of thecomputer-implemented method, the computer-implemented method furtherincludes the network security system uploading the object to the cloudapplication if the object is not sensitive.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the syntheticrequest is further configured to retrieve, from the cloud application,the otherwise absent metadata that identifies user information of a userwho caused the client to issue the incoming request. The userinformation is from-user information.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe network security system receiving a response to the syntheticrequest from the cloud application. The response supplies a user profilepage that includes the user information.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the syntheticrequest is further configured to retrieve the otherwise absent metadatafrom a metadata store independent of the cloud application. In someimplementations, the computer-implemented method further includes thenetwork security system receiving a response to the synthetic requestfrom the metadata store. The response supplies the otherwise absentmetadata.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe network security system extracting an authorization token from theincoming request and configuring the synthetic request with theauthorization token to cause the synthetic request to access the cloudapplication.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe network security system using an application-specific parser(connector) specific to the cloud application to inspect the incomingrequest and detecting the otherwise absent metadata. In someimplementations of the computer-implemented method, theapplication-specific parser specifies match conditions that are specificto request and response syntaxes defined for a particular applicationprogramming interface (API) of the cloud application. In someimplementations of the computer-implemented method, the match conditionsare configured to specify which fields and variables in requestsdirected to a user API are configured to contain the metadata, and toextract the otherwise absent metadata from responses generated by theparticular API.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe network security system using an application-specific template ofthe application-specific parser to construct the synthetic request. Insome implementations of the computer-implemented method, theapplication-specific template specifies parameters to include in thesynthetic request. The parameters are specific to the request andresponse syntaxes. The parameters are configured to cause the cloudapplication to generate responses that contain the otherwise absentmetadata.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the parametersinclude a unified resource locator (URL). In another implementation ofthe computer-implemented method, the parameters include a set of headerfields. In yet another implementation of the computer-implementedmethod, header fields in the set of header fields include fields fromthe incoming request. In yet further implementation of thecomputer-implemented method, the parameters include a response body.

Other implementations of the computer-implemented method disclosedherein can include a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor to perform thecomputer-implemented method described above. Yet other implementationsof the computer-implemented method disclosed herein can include a systemincluding memory and one or more processors operable to executeinstructions, stored in the memory, to perform the computer-implementedmethod described above.

In yet another implementation, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium impressed with computer program instructions to enforcepolicies is described. The instructions, when executed on a processor,implement a method comprising a network security system receiving from aclient an incoming request to access a cloud application in anapplication session. The network security system is interposed betweenclients and cloud applications. The method further comprises the networksecurity system analyzing the incoming request and detecting absence ofat least some metadata required to enforce a security policy on theincoming request.

The method further comprises the network security system holding theincoming request, generating a synthetic request, and injecting thesynthetic request into the application session and transmitting thesynthetic request to the cloud application. The synthetic request isconfigured to retrieve otherwise absent metadata from the cloudapplication.

The method further comprises the network security system receiving aresponse to the synthetic request from the cloud application. Theresponse supplies the otherwise absent metadata.

The method further comprises the network security system using theotherwise absent metadata to enforce the security policy on the incomingrequest.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the synthetic request is generated by the network securitysystem and not found in the incoming request from the client.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the otherwise absent metadata supplied by the responseidentifies a login instance used by the incoming request to access thecloud application as being a controlled account or an uncontrolledaccount.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the network security system fulfilling theincoming request if the login instance is the controlled account. Thecontrolled account is a corporate account.

In another implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the network security system blocking theincoming request if the login instance is the uncontrolled account. Theuncontrolled account is a private account.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the incoming request attempts to upload an object to the cloudapplication. In some implementations of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the synthetic request is further configured toretrieve, from the cloud application, the otherwise absent metadata thatidentifies whether the object is sensitive or not. In someimplementations of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,the non-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprisesthe network security system blocking upload of the object to the cloudapplication if the object is sensitive. In other implementations of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium further comprises the network securitysystem uploading the object to the cloud application if the object isnot sensitive.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the synthetic request is further configured to retrieve, fromthe cloud application, the otherwise absent metadata that identifiesuser information of a user who caused the client to issue the incomingrequest. The user information is from-user information.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the network security system receiving aresponse to the synthetic request from the cloud application. Theresponse supplies a user profile page that includes the userinformation.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the synthetic request is further configured to retrieve theotherwise absent metadata from a metadata store independent of the cloudapplication. In some implementations, the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium further comprises the network security systemreceiving a response to the synthetic request from the metadata store.The response supplies the otherwise absent metadata.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the network security system extracting anauthorization token from the incoming request and configuring thesynthetic request with the authorization token to cause the syntheticrequest to access the cloud application.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the network security system using anapplication-specific parser (connector) specific to the cloudapplication to inspect the incoming request and detecting the otherwiseabsent metadata. In some implementations of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the application-specific parser specifies matchconditions that are specific to request and response syntaxes definedfor a particular application programming interface (API) of the cloudapplication. In some implementations of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the match conditions are configured to specifywhich fields and variables in requests directed to a user API areconfigured to contain the metadata, and to extract the otherwise absentmetadata from responses generated by the particular API.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the network security system using anapplication-specific template of the application-specific parser toconstruct the synthetic request. In some implementations of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, theapplication-specific template specifies parameters to include in thesynthetic request. The parameters are specific to the request andresponse syntaxes. The parameters are configured to cause the cloudapplication to generate responses that contain the otherwise absentmetadata.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the parameters include a unified resource locator (URL). Inanother implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the parameters include a set of header fields. In yet anotherimplementation of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,header fields in the set of header fields include fields from theincoming request. In yet further implementation of the non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium, the parameters include a responsebody.

2) Synthetic Request Injection to Generate Metadata at Points ofPresence for Cloud Policy Enforcement

In one implementation, the technology disclosed describes a system. Thesystem comprises an edge network of a plurality of points of presence ofa network security system. Points of presence in the plurality of pointsof presence are configured to intermediate traffic between clients andcloud applications and to use metadata to apply policies on theintermediated traffic. There are redundancies in metadatasynchronization between the points of presence due to metadata migrationto a second point of presence from a first point of presence handing offintermediation to the second point of presence within an applicationsession.

Each of the points of presence is configured with inline metadatageneration logic. The inline metadata generation logic is configured toissue synthetic requests to provide the metadata to the second point ofpresence without requiring the metadata migration to the second point ofpresence.

In one implementation of the system, a client directs towards a cloudapplication a sequence of incoming requests within the applicationsession. The cloud application is a target cloud application targeted bythe incoming request. In some implementations of the system, incomingrequests in the sequence of incoming requests characterize at least onemetadata-generating event (e.g., login event) that precedes at least onepolicy enforcement-requiring event (e.g., activities like upload, share,edit, delete, download).

In one implementation of the system, the first point of presencecaptured, from the metadata-generating event, metadata required toenforce one or more data protection policies (e.g., data loss protection(DLP) policies, threat detection policies, and malware detectionpolicies) on the policy enforcement-requiring event. In someimplementations of the system, the first point of presence materializedthe metadata in a local metadata store (e.g., an in-memory datastructure store (e.g., a Redis database)) that is confined only to thefirst point of presence in the edge network. In other implementations ofthe system, the first point of presence materialized the metadata in adistributed metadata store (e.g., an in-memory data structure store(e.g., a Redis database)) that is shared by the points of presence inthe edge network.

In one implementation of the system, the first point of presence handedoff the intermediation to the second point of presence after themetadata-generating event but before the policy enforcement-requiringevent, and therefore the metadata-generating event bypassed the secondpoint of presence, and therefore the metadata is locally unavailable tothe second point of presence and requires the metadata migration fromthe local metadata store or the distributed metadata store.

In one implementation of the system, the second point of presenceintermediates the policy enforcement-requiring event and detects absenceof the metadata when enforcing the data protection policies on thepolicy enforcement-requiring event. The absence of the metadata isdetermined when a local metadata store (e.g., an in-memory datastructure store (e.g., a Redis database)) that is confined only to thesecond point of presence in the edge network returns an empty value.

In one implementation of the system, the inline metadata generationlogic is further configured to issue a synthetic request to retrieve themetadata in response to the detection of the absence of the metadata,and to provide the retrieved metadata to the second point of presence toenforce the data protection policies on the policy enforcement-requiringevent, thereby obviating the metadata migration from the local metadatastore of the first point of presence or the distributed metadata store.

In one implementation of the system, the inline metadata generationlogic is further configured to issue the synthetic request to the cloudapplication, and to receive a response to the synthetic request from thecloud application. The response supplies the metadata

In one implementation of the system, the inline metadata generationlogic is further configured to issue the synthetic request to a metadatastore independent of the cloud application, and to receive a response tothe synthetic request from the metadata store. The response supplies themetadata. In some implementations of the system, the inline metadatageneration logic is further configured to store the supplied metadata inthe local metadata store of the second point of presence.

In one implementation of the system, the synthetic request is issuedwithin the application session and independently of the incomingrequests.

In one implementation of the system, the metadata-generating event is alogin event. The metadata generated by the login event includes instancemetadata. The instance metadata identifies a login instance used toaccess the cloud application as being a controlled account or anuncontrolled account. In some implementations of the system, the policyenforcement-requiring event is an upload activity that attempts toupload an object to the cloud application.

In some implementations of the system, the second point of presence,based on the instance metadata, allows the upload activity if the logininstance is the controlled account. The controlled account is acorporate account. In other implementations of the system, the secondpoint of presence, based on the instance metadata, blocks the uploadactivity if the login instance is the uncontrolled account. Theuncontrolled account is a private account.

In one implementation of the system, the metadata generated by the loginevent includes user metadata. The user metadata identifies userinformation of a user who caused the client to access the cloudapplication.

In one implementation of the system, the second point of presence, basedon the user metadata, allows the upload activity if the user informationindicates that the user is an authorized user. In another implementationof the system, the second point of presence, based on the user metadata,blocks the upload activity if the user information indicates that theuser is an unauthorized user.

In one implementation of the system, the points of presence are datacenters that are geographically distributed across the edge network.

In another implementation, the technology disclosed describes acomputer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includes anedge network intermediating traffic between clients and cloudapplications and applying policies on the intermediated traffic based onmetadata. The edge network comprises a plurality of points of presenceof a network security system. Points of presence in the plurality ofpoints of presence are configured to intermediate traffic betweenclients and cloud applications and to use metadata to apply policies onthe intermediated traffic. There are redundancies in metadatasynchronization between the points of presence due to metadata migrationto a second point of presence from a first point of presence handing offintermediation to the second point of presence within an applicationsession.

The computer-implemented method further includes inline metadatageneration logic running in each of the points of presence and issuingsynthetic requests to provide the metadata to the second point ofpresence without requiring the metadata migration to the second point ofpresence.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, a clientdirects towards a cloud application a sequence of incoming requestswithin the application session. The cloud application is a target cloudapplication targeted by the incoming request. In some implementations ofthe computer-implemented method, incoming requests in the sequence ofincoming requests characterize at least one metadata-generating event(e.g., login event) that precedes at least one policyenforcement-requiring event (e.g., activities like upload, share, edit,delete, download).

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the firstpoint of presence captured, from the metadata-generating event, metadatarequired to enforce one or more data protection policies (e.g., dataloss protection (DLP) policies, threat detection policies, and malwaredetection policies) on the policy enforcement-requiring event. In someimplementations of the computer-implemented method, the first point ofpresence materialized the metadata in a local metadata store (e.g., anin-memory data structure store (e.g., a Redis database)) that isconfined only to the first point of presence in the edge network. Inother implementations of the computer-implemented method, the firstpoint of presence materialized the metadata in a distributed metadatastore (e.g., an in-memory data structure store (e.g., a Redis database))that is shared by the points of presence in the edge network.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the firstpoint of presence handed off the intermediation to the second point ofpresence after the metadata-generating event but before the policyenforcement-requiring event, and therefore the metadata-generating eventbypassed the second point of presence, and therefore the metadata islocally unavailable to the second point of presence and requires themetadata migration from the local metadata store or the distributedmetadata store.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the secondpoint of presence intermediates the policy enforcement-requiring eventand detects absence of the metadata when enforcing the data protectionpolicies on the policy enforcement-requiring event. The absence of themetadata is determined when a local metadata store (e.g., an in-memorydata structure store (e.g., a Redis database)) that is confined only tothe second point of presence in the edge network returns an empty value.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe inline metadata generation logic issuing a synthetic request toretrieve the metadata in response to the detection of the absence of themetadata, and providing the retrieved metadata to the second point ofpresence to enforce the data protection policies on the policyenforcement-requiring event, thereby obviating the metadata migrationfrom the local metadata store of the first point of presence or thedistributed metadata store.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe inline metadata generation logic issuing the synthetic request tothe cloud application and receiving a response to the synthetic requestfrom the cloud application. The response supplies the metadata.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe inline metadata generation logic issuing the synthetic request to ametadata store independent of the cloud application and receiving aresponse to the synthetic request from the metadata store. The responsesupplies the metadata. In some implementations, the computer-implementedmethod further includes the inline metadata generation logic storing thesupplied metadata in the local metadata store of the second point ofpresence.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the syntheticrequest is issued within the application session and independently ofthe incoming requests.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, themetadata-generating event is a login event. The metadata generated bythe login event includes instance metadata. The instance metadataidentifies a login instance used to access the cloud application asbeing a controlled account or an uncontrolled account. In someimplementations of the computer-implemented method, the policyenforcement-requiring event is an upload activity that attempts toupload an object to the cloud application.

In some implementations of the computer-implemented method, the secondpoint of presence, based on the instance metadata, allows the uploadactivity if the login instance is the controlled account. The controlledaccount is a corporate account. In other implementations of thecomputer-implemented method, the second point of presence, based on theinstance metadata, blocks the upload activity if the login instance isthe uncontrolled account. The uncontrolled account is a private account.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the metadatagenerated by the login event includes user metadata. The user metadataidentifies user information of a user who caused the client to accessthe cloud application.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the secondpoint of presence, based on the user metadata, allows the uploadactivity if the user information indicates that the user is anauthorized user. In another implementation of the computer-implementedmethod, the second point of presence, based on the user metadata, blocksthe upload activity if the user information indicates that the user isan unauthorized user.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the points ofpresence are data centers that are geographically distributed across theedge network.

Other implementations of the computer-implemented method disclosedherein can include a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor to perform thecomputer-implemented method described above. Yet other implementationsof the computer-implemented method disclosed herein can include a systemincluding memory and one or more processors operable to executeinstructions, stored in the memory, to perform the computer-implementedmethod described above.

In yet another implementation, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium impressed with computer program instructions to enforcepolicies is described. The instructions, when executed on a processor,implement a method comprising an edge network intermediating trafficbetween clients and cloud applications and applying policies on theintermediated traffic based on metadata. The edge network comprises aplurality of points of presence of a network security system. Points ofpresence in the plurality of points of presence are configured tointermediate traffic between clients and cloud applications and to usemetadata to apply policies on the intermediated traffic. There areredundancies in metadata synchronization between the points of presencedue to metadata migration to a second point of presence from a firstpoint of presence handing off intermediation to the second point ofpresence within an application session.

The method further comprises inline metadata generation logic running ineach of the points of presence and issuing synthetic requests to providethe metadata to the second point of presence without requiring themetadata migration to the second point of presence.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, a client directs towards a cloud application a sequence ofincoming requests within the application session. The cloud applicationis a target cloud application targeted by the incoming request. In someimplementations of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,incoming requests in the sequence of incoming requests characterize atleast one metadata-generating event (e.g., login event) that precedes atleast one policy enforcement-requiring event (e.g., activities likeupload, share, edit, delete, download).

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the first point of presence captured, from themetadata-generating event, metadata required to enforce one or more dataprotection policies (e.g., data loss protection (DLP) policies, threatdetection policies, and malware detection policies) on the policyenforcement-requiring event. In some implementations of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the first point ofpresence materialized the metadata in a local metadata store (e.g., anin-memory data structure store (e.g., a Redis database)) that isconfined only to the first point of presence in the edge network. Inother implementations of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the first point of presence materialized the metadata in adistributed metadata store (e.g., an in-memory data structure store(e.g., a Redis database)) that is shared by the points of presence inthe edge network.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the first point of presence handed off the intermediation to thesecond point of presence after the metadata-generating event but beforethe policy enforcement-requiring event, and therefore themetadata-generating event bypassed the second point of presence, andtherefore the metadata is locally unavailable to the second point ofpresence and requires the metadata migration from the local metadatastore or the distributed metadata store.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the second point of presence intermediates the policyenforcement-requiring event and detects absence of the metadata whenenforcing the data protection policies on the policyenforcement-requiring event. The absence of the metadata is determinedwhen a local metadata store (e.g., an in-memory data structure store(e.g., a Redis database)) that is confined only to the second point ofpresence in the edge network returns an empty value.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the inline metadata generation logic issuing asynthetic request to retrieve the metadata in response to the detectionof the absence of the metadata, and providing the retrieved metadata tothe second point of presence to enforce the data protection policies onthe policy enforcement-requiring event, thereby obviating the metadatamigration from the local metadata store of the first point of presenceor the distributed metadata store.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the inline metadata generation logic issuingthe synthetic request to the cloud application and receiving a responseto the synthetic request from the cloud application. The responsesupplies the metadata.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the inline metadata generation logic issuingthe synthetic request to a metadata store independent of the cloudapplication and receiving a response to the synthetic request from themetadata store. The response supplies the metadata. In someimplementations, the non-transitory computer readable storage mediumfurther comprises the inline metadata generation logic storing thesupplied metadata in the local metadata store of the second point ofpresence.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the synthetic request is issued within the application sessionand independently of the incoming requests.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the metadata-generating event is a login event. The metadatagenerated by the login event includes instance metadata. The instancemetadata identifies a login instance used to access the cloudapplication as being a controlled account or an uncontrolled account. Insome implementations of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the policy enforcement-requiring event is an upload activitythat attempts to upload an object to the cloud application.

In some implementations of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the second point of presence, based on the instance metadata,allows the upload activity if the login instance is the controlledaccount. The controlled account is a corporate account. In otherimplementations of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,the second point of presence, based on the instance metadata, blocks theupload activity if the login instance is the uncontrolled account. Theuncontrolled account is a private account.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the metadata generated by the login event includes usermetadata. The user metadata identifies user information of a user whocaused the client to access the cloud application.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the second point of presence, based on the user metadata, allowsthe upload activity if the user information indicates that the user isan authorized user. In another implementation of the non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium, the second point of presence, based onthe user metadata, blocks the upload activity if the user informationindicates that the user is an unauthorized user.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the points of presence are data centers that are geographicallydistributed across the edge network.

3) Data Flow Logic for Synthetic Request Injection for Cloud PolicyEnforcement

In one implementation, the technology disclosed describes a system. Thesystem comprises a plurality of network security systems. Networksecurity systems in the plurality of network security systems areconfigured to intermediate traffic between clients and cloudapplications. The system comprises data flow logic. The data flow logicis configured to inject an incoming request directed to a cloudapplication in a processing path of a particular network security systemin the network security systems.

The particular network security system is configured to use anapplication-specific parser specific to the cloud application to inspectcertain fields and variables in the incoming request for metadata,determine that the metadata is missing, and use an application-specifictemplate of the application-specific parser to construct a syntheticrequest.

The data flow logic is further configured to inject the syntheticrequest in the processing path of the particular network security systemto transmit the synthetic request to the cloud application.

The data flow logic is further configured to inject a response to thesynthetic request from the cloud application in the processing path ofthe particular network security system.

The particular network security system is further configured to use theapplication-specific parser to extract the missing metadata from theresponse.

In one implementation of the system, the application-specific parserspecifies match conditions that are specific to request and responsesyntaxes defined for a particular application programming interface(API) of the cloud application. In some implementations of the system,the match conditions are configured to specify which fields andvariables in requests directed to a user API are configured to containthe metadata, and to extract the missing metadata from responsesgenerated by the particular API.

In one implementation of the system, the application-specific templatespecifies parameters to include in the synthetic request. The parametersare specific to the request and response syntaxes. In someimplementations of the system, the parameters are configured to causethe cloud application to generate responses that contain the missingmetadata. In one implementation of the system, the parameters include aunified resource locator (URL). In another implementation of the system,the parameters include a set of header fields. In some implementationsof the system, header fields in the set of header fields include fieldsfrom the incoming request. In yet another implementation of the system,the parameters include a response body.

In one implementation of the system, the particular network securitysystem is further configured to use the application-specific parser todetermine an activity being performed by the incoming request.

In one implementation of the system, the application-specific parser hasrespective application-specific templates for respective activities. Theapplication-specific template is used to generate the synthetic requestfor the determined activity. In some implementations of the system, theapplication-specific parser has an application-specific templates for aplurality of activities determined by the application-specific parser.The application-specific template is used to generate the syntheticrequest for determined activities in the plurality of activities.

In one implementation of the system, the application-specific templateincludes a first construction logic to generate the synthetic requestfor a browser instance of the cloud application.

In one implementation of the system, the application-specific templateincludes a second construction logic to generate the synthetic requestfor a native instance of the cloud application running locally on aclient. In some implementations of the system, the particular networksecurity system is further configured to use the second constructionlogic to send a synthetic response to the native instance to retrieve amaster token of a user identity spanning the cloud application, send afirst synthetic request to the cloud application to retrieve a peopletoken specific to the native instance of the cloud application, and senda second synthetic request to the cloud application to retrieve themissing metadata.

In one implementation of the system, the particular network securitysystem is further configured to store the extracted missing metadata. Insome implementations of the system, the particular network securitysystem is further configured to hold the incoming request in response todetermining that the metadata is missing. In other implementations ofthe system, the particular network security system is further configuredto release the incoming request and use the extracted missing metadatato subject the incoming request to policy enforcement.

In one implementation of the system, the incoming request is completedin dependence upon the policy enforcement and transmitted to the cloudapplication. In some implementations of the system, the completedincoming request causes an activity to be executed on an object. In oneimplementation of the system, the activity is uploading the object tothe cloud application. In one implementation of the system, the activityis downloading the object from the cloud application. In oneimplementation of the system, the activity is editing the object on thecloud application. In one implementation of the system, the activity isdeleting the object from the cloud application. In one implementation ofthe system, the activity is creating the object on the cloudapplication. In one implementation of the system, the activity issharing the object on the cloud application (e.g., via a link). In oneimplementation of the system, the activity is moving the object withinthe cloud application. In one implementation of the system, the activityis moving the object outside the cloud application.

In one implementation of the system, the incoming request is blocked independence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation of the system, the particular network securitysystem is an inline metadata generation side car service shared bymultiple network security systems in the plurality of network securitysystems and configured to retrieve the metadata using the syntheticrequest.

In one implementation of the system, the particular network securitysystem is further configured to inspect the incoming request andidentify the cloud application and invoke the application-specificparser based on the identified cloud application.

In one implementation of the system, the data flow logic is furtherconfigured to inject the incoming request in the processing path of theparticular network security system in a first application session. Insome implementations of the system, the data flow logic is furtherconfigured to inject the synthetic request in the processing path of theparticular network security system in the first application session. Insome implementations of the system, the particular network securitysystem is further configured to configure the synthetic request with oneor more application session identifiers that are used by the data flowlogic to inject the synthetic request in the processing path of theparticular network security system in the first application session.

In one implementation of the system, the application session identifiersinclude at least one of user agent information, username, authenticateduser, tenant identifier (ID), location internet protocol (IP) address.

In one implementation of the system, the particular network securitysystem is further configured to strip off the application sessionidentifiers from the synthetic request prior to transmission to thecloud application.

In one implementation of the system, the particular network securitysystem is further configured to use the application session identifiersto inject the supplied metadata in the first application session tosubject the incoming request or a further incoming request to policyenforcement within the first application session.

In one implementation of the system, the data flow logic is furtherconfigured to inject the synthetic request in the processing path of theparticular network security system using a client URL (cURL) module andsynthetic listener mode of the particular network security system. Insome implementations of the system, the cURL protocol generates a cURLsynthetic request for the synthetic request and sends the cURL syntheticrequest to the synthetic listener mode. In some implementations of thesystem, the synthetic listener mode marks the cURL synthetic request asan internal request and subjects the cURL synthetic request toprocessing by the application-specific parser, sends the cURL syntheticrequest to the cloud application, receives the response to the cURLsynthetic request from the cloud application, and uses theapplication-specific parser to extract the missing metadata from theresponse.

In one implementation of the system, the synthetic listener mode storesthe extracted missing metadata in a local metadata store of theparticular network security system. In another implementation of thesystem, the synthetic listener mode stores the extracted missingmetadata in a distributed metadata store shared by the network securitysystems. In yet another implementation of the system, the syntheticlistener mode generates a cURL response, which is used to release theincoming request.

In one implementation of the system, the cURL request is generated by acURL utility thread implementing the cURL protocol, and the cURLresponse is received by the cURL utility thread.

In one implementation of the system, the internal request bypassespolicy enforcement and event generation by the particular networksecurity system.

In one implementation of the system, the network security systems areconfigured to run as containerized services. In some implementations ofthe system, the particular network security system is configured to runas a container hypervisor generating synthetic requests for a pluralityof the containerized services.

In another implementation, the technology disclosed describes acomputer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includesnetwork security systems in a plurality of network security systemsintermediating traffic between clients and cloud applications.

The computer-implemented method further includes data flow logicinjecting an incoming request directed to a cloud application in aprocessing path of a particular network security system in the networksecurity systems.

The computer-implemented method further includes the particular networksecurity system using an application-specific parser specific to thecloud application to inspect certain fields and variables in theincoming request for metadata, determining that the metadata is missing,and using an application-specific template of the application-specificparser to construct a synthetic request.

The computer-implemented method further includes the data flow logicinjecting the synthetic request in the processing path of the particularnetwork security system and transmitting the synthetic request to thecloud application.

The computer-implemented method further includes the data flow logicinjecting a response to the synthetic request from the cloud applicationin the processing path of the particular network security system.

The computer-implemented method further includes the particular networksecurity system using the application-specific parser to extract themissing metadata from the response.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, theapplication-specific parser specifies match conditions that are specificto request and response syntaxes defined for a particular applicationprogramming interface (API) of the cloud application. In someimplementations of the computer-implemented method, the match conditionsare configured to specify which fields and variables in requestsdirected to a user API are configured to contain the metadata, and toextract the missing metadata from responses generated by the particularAPI.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, theapplication-specific template specifies parameters to include in thesynthetic request. The parameters are specific to the request andresponse syntaxes. In some implementations of the computer-implementedmethod, the parameters are configured to cause the cloud application togenerate responses that contain the missing metadata. In oneimplementation of the computer-implemented method, the parametersinclude a unified resource locator (URL). In another implementation ofthe computer-implemented method, the parameters include a set of headerfields. In some implementations of the computer-implemented method,header fields in the set of header fields include fields from theincoming request. In yet another implementation of thecomputer-implemented method, the parameters include a response body.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe particular network security system using the application-specificparser to determine an activity being performed by the incoming request.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, theapplication-specific parser has respective application-specifictemplates for respective activities. The application-specific templateis used to generate the synthetic request for the determined activity.In some implementations of the computer-implemented method, theapplication-specific parser has an application-specific templates for aplurality of activities determined by the application-specific parser.The application-specific template is used to generate the syntheticrequest for determined activities in the plurality of activities.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, theapplication-specific template includes a first construction logic togenerate the synthetic request for a browser instance of the cloudapplication.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, theapplication-specific template includes a second construction logic togenerate the synthetic request for a native instance of the cloudapplication running locally on a client. In some implementations, thecomputer-implemented method further includes the particular networksecurity system using the second construction logic to send a syntheticresponse to the native instance to retrieve a master token of a useridentity spanning the cloud application, sending a first syntheticrequest to the cloud application to retrieve a people token specific tothe native instance of the cloud application, and sending a secondsynthetic request to the cloud application to retrieve the missingmetadata.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe particular network security system storing the extracted missingmetadata. In some implementations, the computer-implemented methodfurther includes the particular network security system holding theincoming request in response to determining that the metadata ismissing. In other implementations, the computer-implemented methodfurther includes the particular network security system releasing theincoming request and using the extracted missing metadata to subject theincoming request to policy enforcement.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the incomingrequest is completed in dependence upon the policy enforcement andtransmitted to the cloud application. In some implementations of thecomputer-implemented method, the completed incoming request causes anactivity to be executed on an object. In one implementation of thecomputer-implemented method, the activity is uploading the object to thecloud application. In one implementation of the computer-implementedmethod, the activity is downloading the object from the cloudapplication. In one implementation of the computer-implemented method,the activity is editing the object on the cloud application. In oneimplementation of the computer-implemented method, the activity isdeleting the object from the cloud application. In one implementation ofthe computer-implemented method, the activity is creating the object onthe cloud application. In one implementation of the computer-implementedmethod, the activity is sharing the object on the cloud application(e.g., via a link). In one implementation of the computer-implementedmethod, the activity is moving the object within the cloud application.In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the activityis moving the object outside the cloud application.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the incomingrequest is blocked in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the particularnetwork security system is an inline metadata generation side carservice shared by multiple network security systems in the plurality ofnetwork security systems and configured to retrieve the metadata usingthe synthetic request.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe particular network security system inspecting the incoming requestand identifying the cloud application and invoking theapplication-specific parser based on the identified cloud application.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe data flow logic injecting the incoming request in the processingpath of the particular network security system in a first applicationsession. In some implementations, the computer-implemented methodfurther includes the data flow logic injecting the synthetic request inthe processing path of the particular network security system in thefirst application session. In some implementations, thecomputer-implemented method further includes the particular networksecurity system configuring the synthetic request with one or moreapplication session identifiers that are used by the data flow logic toinject the synthetic request in the processing path of the particularnetwork security system in the first application session.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, theapplication session identifiers include at least one of user agentinformation, username, authenticated user, tenant identifier (ID),location internet protocol (IP) address.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe particular network security system stripping off the applicationsession identifiers from the synthetic request prior to transmission tothe cloud application.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe particular network security system using the application sessionidentifiers to inject the supplied metadata in the first applicationsession to subject the incoming request or a further incoming request topolicy enforcement within the first application session.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe data flow logic injecting the synthetic request in the processingpath of the particular network security system using a client URL (cURL)module and synthetic listener mode of the particular network securitysystem. In some implementations of the computer-implemented method, thecURL protocol generates a cURL synthetic request for the syntheticrequest and sends the cURL synthetic request to the synthetic listenermode. In some implementations, the computer-implemented method furtherincludes the synthetic listener mode marking the cURL synthetic requestas an internal request and subjecting the cURL synthetic request toprocessing by the application-specific parser, sending the cURLsynthetic request to the cloud application, receiving the response tothe cURL synthetic request from the cloud application, and using theapplication-specific parser to extract the missing metadata from theresponse.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe synthetic listener mode storing the extracted missing metadata in alocal metadata store of the particular network security system. Inanother implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe synthetic listener mode storing the extracted missing metadata in adistributed metadata store shared by the network security systems. Inyet another implementation, the computer-implemented method furtherincludes the synthetic listener mode generating a cURL response, whichis used to release the incoming request.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesgenerating the cURL request using a cURL utility thread implementing thecURL protocol, and the cURL response is received by the cURL utilitythread.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe internal request bypassing policy enforcement and event generationby the particular network security system.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe network security systems running as containerized services. In someimplementations, the computer-implemented method further includes theparticular network security system running as a container hypervisorgenerating synthetic requests for a plurality of the containerizedservices.

Other implementations of the computer-implemented method disclosedherein can include a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor to perform thecomputer-implemented method described above. Yet other implementationsof the computer-implemented method disclosed herein can include a systemincluding memory and one or more processors operable to executeinstructions, stored in the memory, to perform the computer-implementedmethod described above.

In yet another implementation, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium impressed with computer program instructions to enforcepolicies is described. The instructions, when executed on a processor,implement a method comprising network security systems in a plurality ofnetwork security systems intermediating traffic between clients andcloud applications.

The non-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprisesdata flow logic injecting an incoming request directed to a cloudapplication in a processing path of a particular network security systemin the network security systems.

The non-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprisesthe particular network security system using an application-specificparser specific to the cloud application to inspect certain fields andvariables in the incoming request for metadata, determining that themetadata is missing, and using an application-specific template of theapplication-specific parser to construct a synthetic request.

The non-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprisesthe data flow logic injecting the synthetic request in the processingpath of the particular network security system and transmitting thesynthetic request to the cloud application.

The non-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprisesthe data flow logic injecting a response to the synthetic request fromthe cloud application in the processing path of the particular networksecurity system.

The non-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprisesthe particular network security system using the application-specificparser to extract the missing metadata from the response.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the application-specific parser specifies match conditions thatare specific to request and response syntaxes defined for a particularapplication programming interface (API) of the cloud application. Insome implementations of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the match conditions are configured to specify which fields andvariables in requests directed to a user API are configured to containthe metadata, and to extract the missing metadata from responsesgenerated by the particular API.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the application-specific template specifies parameters toinclude in the synthetic request. The parameters are specific to therequest and response syntaxes. In some implementations of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the parameters areconfigured to cause the cloud application to generate responses thatcontain the missing metadata. In one implementation of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the parameters includea unified resource locator (URL). In another implementation of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the parameters includea set of header fields. In some implementations of the non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium, header fields in the set of headerfields include fields from the incoming request. In yet anotherimplementation of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,the parameters include a response body.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the particular network security system usingthe application-specific parser to determine an activity being performedby the incoming request.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the application-specific parser has respectiveapplication-specific templates for respective activities. Theapplication-specific template is used to generate the synthetic requestfor the determined activity. In some implementations of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, theapplication-specific parser has an application-specific templates for aplurality of activities determined by the application-specific parser.The application-specific template is used to generate the syntheticrequest for determined activities in the plurality of activities.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the application-specific template includes a first constructionlogic to generate the synthetic request for a browser instance of thecloud application.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the application-specific template includes a second constructionlogic to generate the synthetic request for a native instance of thecloud application running locally on a client. In some implementations,the non-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprisesthe particular network security system using the second constructionlogic to send a synthetic response to the native instance to retrieve amaster token of a user identity spanning the cloud application, sendinga first synthetic request to the cloud application to retrieve a peopletoken specific to the native instance of the cloud application, andsending a second synthetic request to the cloud application to retrievethe missing metadata.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the particular network security system storingthe extracted missing metadata. In some implementations, thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprises theparticular network security system holding the incoming request inresponse to determining that the metadata is missing. In otherimplementations, the non-transitory computer readable storage mediumfurther comprises the particular network security system releasing theincoming request and using the extracted missing metadata to subject theincoming request to policy enforcement.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the incoming request is completed in dependence upon the policyenforcement and transmitted to the cloud application. In someimplementations of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,the completed incoming request causes an activity to be executed on anobject. In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium, the activity is uploading the object to the cloudapplication. In one implementation of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the activity is downloading the object from thecloud application. In one implementation of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the activity is editing the object on the cloudapplication. In one implementation of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the activity is deleting the object from thecloud application. In one implementation of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the activity is creating the object on thecloud application. In one implementation of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the activity is sharing the object on the cloudapplication (e.g., via a link). In one implementation of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the activity is movingthe object within the cloud application. In one implementation of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the activity is movingthe object outside the cloud application.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the incoming request is blocked in dependence upon the policyenforcement.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the particular network security system is an inline metadatageneration side car service shared by multiple network security systemsin the plurality of network security systems and configured to retrievethe metadata using the synthetic request.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the particular network security systeminspecting the incoming request and identifying the cloud applicationand invoking the application-specific parser based on the identifiedcloud application.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the data flow logic injecting the incomingrequest in the processing path of the particular network security systemin a first application session. In some implementations, thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium further comprises thedata flow logic injecting the synthetic request in the processing pathof the particular network security system in the first applicationsession. In some implementations, the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium further comprises the particular network security systemconfiguring the synthetic request with one or more application sessionidentifiers that are used by the data flow logic to inject the syntheticrequest in the processing path of the particular network security systemin the first application session.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the application session identifiers include at least one of useragent information, username, authenticated user, tenant identifier (ID),location internet protocol (IP) address.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the particular network security systemstripping off the application session identifiers from the syntheticrequest prior to transmission to the cloud application.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the particular network security system usingthe application session identifiers to inject the supplied metadata inthe first application session to subject the incoming request or afurther incoming request to policy enforcement within the firstapplication session.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the data flow logic injecting the syntheticrequest in the processing path of the particular network security systemusing a client URL (cURL) module and synthetic listener mode of theparticular network security system. In some implementations of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the cURL protocolgenerates a cURL synthetic request for the synthetic request and sendsthe cURL synthetic request to the synthetic listener mode. In someimplementations, the non-transitory computer readable storage mediumfurther comprises the synthetic listener mode marking the cURL syntheticrequest as an internal request and subjecting the cURL synthetic requestto processing by the application-specific parser, sending the cURLsynthetic request to the cloud application, receiving the response tothe cURL synthetic request from the cloud application, and using theapplication-specific parser to extract the missing metadata from theresponse.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the synthetic listener mode storing theextracted missing metadata in a local metadata store of the particularnetwork security system. In another implementation, the non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium further comprises the syntheticlistener mode storing the extracted missing metadata in a distributedmetadata store shared by the network security systems. In yet anotherimplementation, the non-transitory computer readable storage mediumfurther comprises the synthetic listener mode generating a cURLresponse, which is used to release the incoming request.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises generating the cURL request using a cURLutility thread implementing the cURL protocol, and the cURL response isreceived by the cURL utility thread.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the internal request bypassing policyenforcement and event generation by the particular network securitysystem.

In one implementation, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further comprises the network security systems running ascontainerized services. In some implementations, the non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium further comprises the particularnetwork security system running as a container hypervisor generatingsynthetic requests for a plurality of the containerized services.

4) Synthetic Request Injection to Retrieve Object Metadata for CloudPolicy Enforcement

In one implementation, the technology disclosed describes a system. Thesystem comprises a network security system interposed between clientsand cloud applications. The network security system is configured toreceive, during an application session, an incoming request from aclient. The incoming request is directed towards a cloud application,i.e., a target cloud application targeted by the incoming request, andincludes an object identifier of an object. The network security systemis further configured to analyze the incoming request and detect theobject identifier.

The network security system is further configured to configure asynthetic request with the object identifier and inject the syntheticrequest into the application session to transmit the synthetic requestto the cloud application. The synthetic request is configured toretrieve object metadata about the object using the object identifier.

The network security system is further configured to receive a responseto the synthetic request from the cloud application. The responsesupplies the object metadata.

In one implementation of the system, the object metadata is object name.In one implementation of the system, the object metadata is object size.In one implementation of the system, the object metadata is object type.In one implementation of the system, the object metadata is objectsensitivity.

In some implementations of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to use the object metadata to enforce at least onesecurity policy on the incoming request and/or a further incomingrequest that follows the incoming request.

In some implementations of the system, the incoming request and/or thefurther incoming request attempts to execute an activity involving theobject. In one implementation of the system, the activity is uploadingthe object to the cloud application. In one implementation of thesystem, the activity is downloading the object from the cloudapplication. In one implementation of the system, the activity isediting the object on the cloud application. In one implementation ofthe system, the activity is deleting the object from the cloudapplication. In one implementation of the system, the activity iscreating the object on the cloud application. In one implementation ofthe system, the activity is sharing the object on the cloud application(e.g., via a link). In one implementation of the system, the activity ismoving the object within the cloud application. In one implementation ofthe system, the activity is moving the object outside the cloudapplication.

In some implementations of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to hold the incoming request, and thereby holdexecution of the activity on the object. transmit the synthetic requestto the cloud application and receive the response to the syntheticrequest from the cloud application. The response supplies the objectmetadata. The network security system is further configured to determinethat the activity qualifies as executable on the object based on anevaluation of the supplied object metadata against the security policy,and execute the activity on the object.

In some implementations of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to execute the activity on the object, transmit thesynthetic request to the cloud application, and receive the response tothe synthetic request from the cloud application. The response suppliesthe object metadata. The network security system is further configuredto return the supplied object metadata to the client for display assupplemental confirmation of the execution of the activity on theobject.

In some implementations of the system, the synthetic request is furtherconfigured to use the object identifier to retrieve the object from thecloud application. The response supplies the object. In oneimplementation of the system, the network security system is furtherconfigured to enforce the security policy on the object.

In some implementations of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to analyze the retrieved object to generate theobject metadata (e.g., using data loss prevention (DLP) analysis (e.g.,text analysis). The generated object metadata is sensitivity metadatathat specifies whether the retrieved object is sensitive or not.

In some implementations of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to use the generated object metadata to enforce thesecurity policy on the retrieved object.

In some implementations of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to transmit the retrieved object to the client.

In some implementations of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to extract an authentication token from the incomingrequest, and to configure the synthetic request with the authenticationtoken to access the cloud application.

In another implementation, the technology disclosed describes acomputer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includes anetwork security system receiving, during an application session, anincoming request from a client. The network security system isinterposed between clients and cloud applications. The incoming requestis directed towards a cloud application, i.e., a target cloudapplication targeted by the incoming request, and includes an objectidentifier of an object. The computer-implemented method furtherincludes the network security system analyzing the incoming request anddetecting the object identifier.

The computer-implemented method further includes the network securitysystem configuring a synthetic request with the object identifier andinjecting the synthetic request into the application session andtransmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application. Thesynthetic request is configured to retrieve object metadata about theobject using the object identifier.

The computer-implemented method further includes the network securitysystem receiving a response to the synthetic request from the cloudapplication. The response supplies the object metadata.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the objectmetadata is object name. In one implementation of thecomputer-implemented method, the object metadata is object size. In oneimplementation of the computer-implemented method, the object metadatais object type. In one implementation of the computer-implementedmethod, the object metadata is object sensitivity.

In some implementations, the computer-implemented method furtherincludes the network security system using the object metadata toenforce at least one security policy on the incoming request and/or afurther incoming request that follows the incoming request.

In some implementations of the computer-implemented method, the incomingrequest and/or the further incoming request attempts to execute anactivity involving the object. In one implementation of thecomputer-implemented method, the activity is uploading the object to thecloud application. In one implementation of the computer-implementedmethod, the activity is downloading the object from the cloudapplication. In one implementation of the computer-implemented method,the activity is editing the object on the cloud application. In oneimplementation of the computer-implemented method, the activity isdeleting the object from the cloud application. In one implementation ofthe computer-implemented method, the activity is creating the object onthe cloud application. In one implementation of the computer-implementedmethod, the activity is sharing the object on the cloud application(e.g., via a link). In one implementation of the computer-implementedmethod, the activity is moving the object within the cloud application.In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the activityis moving the object outside the cloud application.

Other implementations of the computer-implemented method disclosedherein can include a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor to perform thecomputer-implemented method described above. Yet other implementationsof the computer-implemented method disclosed herein can include a systemincluding memory and one or more processors operable to executeinstructions, stored in the memory, to perform the computer-implementedmethod described above.

In yet another implementation, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium impressed with computer program instructions to enforcepolicies is described. The instructions, when executed on a processor,implement a method comprising a network security system receiving,during an application session, an incoming request from a client. Thenetwork security system is interposed between clients and cloudapplications. The incoming request is directed towards a cloudapplication, i.e., a target cloud application targeted by the incomingrequest, and includes an object identifier of an object. The methodfurther comprises the network security system analyzing the incomingrequest and detecting the object identifier.

The method further comprises the network security system configuring asynthetic request with the object identifier and injecting the syntheticrequest into the application session and transmitting the syntheticrequest to the cloud application. The synthetic request is configured toretrieve object metadata about the object using the object identifier.

The method further comprises the network security system receiving aresponse to the synthetic request from the cloud application. Theresponse supplies the object metadata.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the object metadata is object name. In one implementation of thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium, the object metadata isobject size. In one implementation of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the object metadata is object type. In oneimplementation of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,the object metadata is object sensitivity.

In some implementations, the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium further includes the network security system using the objectmetadata to enforce at least one security policy on the incoming requestand/or a further incoming request that follows the incoming request.

In some implementations of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the incoming request and/or the further incoming requestattempts to execute an activity involving the object. In oneimplementation of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,the activity is uploading the object to the cloud application. In oneimplementation of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium,the activity is downloading the object from the cloud application. Inone implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the activity is editing the object on the cloud application. Inone implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the activity is deleting the object from the cloud application.In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the activity is creating the object on the cloud application. Inone implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the activity is sharing the object on the cloud application(e.g., via a link). In one implementation of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the activity is moving the object within thecloud application. In one implementation of the non-transitory computerreadable storage medium, the activity is moving the object outside thecloud application.

5) Synthetic Request Injection to Retrieve Expired Metadata for CloudPolicy Enforcement

In one implementation, the technology disclosed describes a system. Thesystem comprises a network security system interposed between clientsand cloud applications. The network security system is configured toprocess an incoming request from a client and generate metadata. Thenetwork security system is further configured to transmit the incomingrequest to a cloud application, i.e., a target cloud applicationtargeted by the incoming request. The network security system is furtherconfigured to configure the metadata to expire after an expirationwindow.

The network security system is further configured to receive, after theexpiration window, a further incoming request from the client. Thefurther incoming request is directed towards the cloud application andsubject to policy enforcement that requires the expired metadata. Thenetwork security system is further configured to hold the furtherincoming request and transmit a synthetic request to the cloudapplication. The synthetic request is configured to retrieve the expiredmetadata from the cloud application.

The network security system is further configured to receive a responseto the synthetic request from the cloud application. The responsesupplies the expired metadata. The network security system is furtherconfigured to use the supplied expired metadata to subject the furtherincoming request to the policy enforcement.

In one implementation of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to store the metadata for a period of time defined bythe expiration window.

In one implementation of the system, the incoming request, the furtherincoming request, and the synthetic request are generated during a sameapplication session.

In one implementation of the system, the incoming request is generatedduring a first application session. The further incoming request and thesynthetic request are generated during a second application session thatfollows the first application session.

In one implementation of the system, the network security system isfurther configured to extract an authentication token from the incomingrequest, and to configure the synthetic request with the authenticationtoken to access the cloud application.

In one implementation of the system, the expired metadata supplied bythe response identifies a login instance used by the incoming request toaccess the cloud application as being a controlled account or anuncontrolled account.

In one implementation of the system, the expired metadata supplied bythe response identifies object metadata.

In another implementation, the technology disclosed describes acomputer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includes anetwork security system processing an incoming request from a client andgenerating metadata. The network security system is interposed betweenclients and cloud applications. The computer-implemented method furtherincludes the network security system transmitting the incoming requestto a cloud application, i.e., a target cloud application targeted by theincoming request. The computer-implemented method further includes thenetwork security system configuring the metadata to expire after anexpiration window.

The computer-implemented method further includes the policy enforcementreceiving, after the expiration window, a further incoming request fromthe client. The further incoming request is directed towards the cloudapplication and subject to policy enforcement that requires the expiredmetadata. The computer-implemented method further includes the policyenforcement holding the further incoming request and transmitting asynthetic request to the cloud application. The synthetic request isconfigured to retrieve the expired metadata from the cloud application.

The computer-implemented method further includes the policy enforcementreceiving a response to the synthetic request from the cloudapplication. The response supplies the expired metadata. Thecomputer-implemented method further includes the policy enforcementusing the supplied expired metadata to subject the further incomingrequest to the policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe network security system storing the metadata for a period of timedefined by the expiration window.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the incomingrequest, the further incoming request, and the synthetic request aregenerated during a same application session.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the incomingrequest is generated during a first application session. The furtherincoming request and the synthetic request are generated during a secondapplication session that follows the first application session.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesthe network security system extracting an authentication token from theincoming request and configuring the synthetic request with theauthentication token to access the cloud application.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the expiredmetadata supplied by the response identifies a login instance used bythe incoming request to access the cloud application as being acontrolled account or an uncontrolled account.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the expiredmetadata supplied by the response identifies object metadata.

Other implementations of the computer-implemented method disclosedherein can include a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor to perform thecomputer-implemented method described above. Yet other implementationsof the computer-implemented method disclosed herein can include a systemincluding memory and one or more processors operable to executeinstructions, stored in the memory, to perform the computer-implementedmethod described above.

In yet another implementation, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium impressed with computer program instructions to enforcepolicies is described. The instructions, when executed on a processor,implement a method comprising a network security system processing anincoming request from a client and generating metadata. The networksecurity system is interposed between clients and cloud applications.The method further comprises the network security system transmittingthe incoming request to a cloud application, i.e., a target cloudapplication targeted by the incoming request. The method furthercomprises the network security system configuring the metadata to expireafter an expiration window.

The method further comprises the policy enforcement receiving, after theexpiration window, a further incoming request from the client. Thefurther incoming request is directed towards the cloud application andsubject to policy enforcement that requires the expired metadata. Themethod further comprises the policy enforcement holding the furtherincoming request and transmitting a synthetic request to the cloudapplication. The synthetic request is configured to retrieve the expiredmetadata from the cloud application.

The method further comprises the policy enforcement receiving a responseto the synthetic request from the cloud application. The responsesupplies the expired metadata. The method further comprises the policyenforcement using the supplied expired metadata to subject the furtherincoming request to the policy enforcement.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the method further comprises the network security system storingthe metadata for a period of time defined by the expiration window.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the incoming request, the further incoming request, and thesynthetic request are generated during a same application session.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the incoming request is generated during a first applicationsession. The further incoming request and the synthetic request aregenerated during a second application session that follows the firstapplication session.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the method further comprises the network security systemextracting an authentication token from the incoming request andconfiguring the synthetic request with the authentication token toaccess the cloud application.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the expired metadata supplied by the response identifies a logininstance used by the incoming request to access the cloud application asbeing a controlled account or an uncontrolled account.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the expired metadata supplied by the response identifies objectmetadata.

6) Synthetic Request Injection to Improve Object Security Posture forCloud Policy Enforcement

In one implementation, the technology disclosed describes a system. Thesystem comprises a network security system interposed between clientsand cloud applications. The network security system is configured toreceive from a client an incoming request to upload an object to a cloudapplication over an application session. The object is subject to policyenforcement by the network security system. The network security systemis further configured to generate a synthetic request, upload the objectto the cloud application, and inject the synthetic request into theapplication session to transmit the synthetic request to the cloudapplication. The synthetic request is configured to modify a securityposture of the uploaded object in dependence upon the policyenforcement.

In one implementation of the system, the security posture includessharing configurations of the uploaded object. The synthetic request isfurther configured to modify the sharing configurations to preventsharing of the uploaded object in dependence upon the policyenforcement.

In one implementation of the system, the security posture includessensitivity configurations of the uploaded object. The synthetic requestis further configured to modify the sensitivity configurations to setsensitivity status of the uploaded object as sensitive.

In one implementation, the system is further configured to receive fromthe client an incoming request to edit the object on the cloudapplication over the application session, and generate the syntheticrequest, edit the object on the cloud application, and inject thesynthetic request into the application session to transmit the syntheticrequest to the cloud application. The synthetic request is configured tomodify the security posture of the edited object in dependence upon thepolicy enforcement.

In one implementation, the system is further configured to receive fromthe client an incoming request to download the object from the cloudapplication over the application session, and generate the syntheticrequest, download the object from the cloud application, and inject thesynthetic request into the application session to transmit the syntheticrequest to the cloud application. The synthetic request is configured tomodify the security posture of the downloaded object in dependence uponthe policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the system is further configured to receive fromthe client an incoming request to create the object on the cloudapplication over the application session, and generate the syntheticrequest, create the object on the cloud application, and inject thesynthetic request into the application session to transmit the syntheticrequest to the cloud application. The synthetic request is configured tomodify the security posture of the created object in dependence upon thepolicy enforcement.

In one implementation, the system is further configured to receive fromthe client an incoming request to share the object on the cloudapplication over the application session, and generate the syntheticrequest, share the object on the cloud application, and inject thesynthetic request into the application session to transmit the syntheticrequest to the cloud application. The synthetic request is configured tomodify the security posture of the shared object in dependence upon thepolicy enforcement.

In one implementation, the system is further configured to receive fromthe client an incoming request to move the object inside or outside thecloud application over the application session, and generate thesynthetic request, move the object inside or outside the cloudapplication, and inject the synthetic request into the applicationsession to transmit the synthetic request to the cloud application. Thesynthetic request is configured to modify the security posture of themoved object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In another implementation, the technology disclosed describes acomputer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includesreceiving from a client an incoming request to upload an object to acloud application over an application session. The object is subject topolicy enforcement by a network security system interposed betweenclients and cloud applications. The computer-implemented method furtherincludes generating a synthetic request, uploading the object to thecloud application, and injecting the synthetic request into theapplication session and transmitting the synthetic request to the cloudapplication. The synthetic request is configured to modify a securityposture of the uploaded object in dependence upon the policyenforcement.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the securityposture includes sharing configurations of the uploaded object. Thesynthetic request is further configured to modify the sharingconfigurations to prevent sharing of the uploaded object in dependenceupon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the securityposture includes sensitivity configurations of the uploaded object. Thesynthetic request is further configured to modify the sensitivityconfigurations to set sensitivity status of the uploaded object assensitive.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesreceiving from the client an incoming request to edit the object on thecloud application over the application session, and generating thesynthetic request, editing the object on the cloud application, andinjecting the synthetic request into the application session andtransmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application. Thesynthetic request is configured to modify the security posture of theedited object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesreceiving from the client an incoming request to download the objectfrom the cloud application over the application session, and generatingthe synthetic request, downloading the object from the cloudapplication, and injecting the synthetic request into the applicationsession and transmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application.The synthetic request is configured to modify the security posture ofthe downloaded object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesreceiving from the client an incoming request to create the object onthe cloud application over the application session, and generating thesynthetic request, creating the object on the cloud application, andinjecting the synthetic request into the application session andtransmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application. Thesynthetic request is configured to modify the security posture of thecreated object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesreceiving from the client an incoming request to share the object on thecloud application over the application session, and generating thesynthetic request, sharing the object on the cloud application, andinjecting the synthetic request into the application session andtransmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application. Thesynthetic request is configured to modify the security posture of theshared object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesreceiving from the client an incoming request to move the object insideor outside the cloud application over the application session, andgenerating the synthetic request, moving the object inside or outsidethe cloud application, and injecting the synthetic request into theapplication session and transmitting the synthetic request to the cloudapplication. The synthetic request is configured to modify the securityposture of the moved object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

Other implementations of the computer-implemented method disclosedherein can include a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor to perform thecomputer-implemented method described above. Yet other implementationsof the computer-implemented method disclosed herein can include a systemincluding memory and one or more processors operable to executeinstructions, stored in the memory, to perform the computer-implementedmethod described above.

In yet another implementation, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium impressed with computer program instructions to enforcepolicies is described. The instructions, when executed on a processor,implement a method comprising receiving from a client an incomingrequest to upload an object to a cloud application over an applicationsession. The object is subject to policy enforcement by a networksecurity system interposed between clients and cloud applications. Themethod further comprises generating a synthetic request, uploading theobject to the cloud application, and injecting the synthetic requestinto the application session and transmitting the synthetic request tothe cloud application. The synthetic request is configured to modify asecurity posture of the uploaded object in dependence upon the policyenforcement.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the security posture includes sharing configurations of theuploaded object. The synthetic request is further configured to modifythe sharing configurations to prevent sharing of the uploaded object independence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the security posture includes sensitivity configurations of theuploaded object. The synthetic request is further configured to modifythe sensitivity configurations to set sensitivity status of the uploadedobject as sensitive.

In one implementation, the instructions implement the method furthercomprising receiving from the client an incoming request to edit theobject on the cloud application over the application session, andgenerating the synthetic request, editing the object on the cloudapplication, and injecting the synthetic request into the applicationsession and transmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application.The synthetic request is configured to modify the security posture ofthe edited object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the instructions implement the method furthercomprising receiving from the client an incoming request to download theobject from the cloud application over the application session, andgenerating the synthetic request, downloading the object from the cloudapplication, and injecting the synthetic request into the applicationsession and transmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application.The synthetic request is configured to modify the security posture ofthe downloaded object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the instructions implement the method furthercomprising receiving from the client an incoming request to create theobject on the cloud application over the application session, andgenerating the synthetic request, creating the object on the cloudapplication, and injecting the synthetic request into the applicationsession and transmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application.The synthetic request is configured to modify the security posture ofthe created object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the instructions implement the method furthercomprising receiving from the client an incoming request to share theobject on the cloud application over the application session, andgenerating the synthetic request, sharing the object on the cloudapplication, and injecting the synthetic request into the applicationsession and transmitting the synthetic request to the cloud application.The synthetic request is configured to modify the security posture ofthe shared object in dependence upon the policy enforcement.

In one implementation, the instructions implement the method furthercomprising receiving from the client an incoming request to move theobject inside or outside the cloud application over the applicationsession, and generating the synthetic request, moving the object insideor outside the cloud application, and injecting the synthetic requestinto the application session and transmitting the synthetic request tothe cloud application. The synthetic request is configured to modify thesecurity posture of the moved object in dependence upon the policyenforcement.

7) Synthetic Request Injection to Disambiguate Bypassed Login Events forCloud Policy Enforcement

In one implementation, the technology disclosed describes acomputer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includesdisambiguating a bypassed login event that caused a client to access acloud application but bypassed a network security system configured tointermediate traffic between the client and the cloud application.

The network security system receives from the client an incoming requestto access a resource on the cloud application over an applicationsession. The bypassed login event preceded the incoming request.

The network security system analyzes the incoming request and detectsabsence of instance metadata required to determine whether the bypassedlogin event emanated from a controlled account or an uncontrolledaccount. The network security system holds the incoming request,generates a synthetic request, and injects the synthetic request intothe application session and transmits the synthetic request to the cloudapplication. The synthetic request is configured to retrieve theinstance metadata from the cloud application.

The network security system receives a response to the synthetic requestfrom the cloud application. The response supplies the instance metadata.The network security system uses the instance metadata to determinewhether the bypassed login event emanated from the controlled account orthe uncontrolled account.

The method described in this section and other sections of thetechnology disclosed can include one or more of the following featuresand/or features described in connection with additional methodsdisclosed. In the interest of conciseness, the combinations of featuresdisclosed in this application are not individually enumerated and arenot repeated with each base set of features. The reader will understandhow features identified in this method can readily be combined with setsof base features identified as implementations in other sections of thisapplication.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the incomingrequest is fulfilled if the bypassed login event emanated from thecontrolled account. The controlled account is a corporate account.

In another implementation of the computer-implemented method, theincoming request is blocked if the bypassed login event emanated fromthe uncontrolled account. The uncontrolled account is a private account.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the cloudapplication is a native application running locally on a client andconfigured to provide access without a login page. The bypassed loginevent bypassed the network security system due to lack of the loginpage.

In one implementation of the computer-implemented method, the cloudapplication is an unsanctioned application for which the networksecurity system lacks an application-specific parser. The bypassed loginevent bypassed the network security system due to failure of the networksecurity system to inspect fields and variables in the incoming requestfor the instance metadata.

In some implementations of the computer-implemented method, the instancemetadata is used to subject the incoming request to policy enforcement.

In some implementations of the computer-implemented method, anauthentication token is extracted from the incoming request. Thesynthetic request is configured with the authentication token.

Other implementations of the computer-implemented method disclosedherein can include a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor to perform thecomputer-implemented method described above. Yet other implementationsof the computer-implemented method disclosed herein can include a systemincluding memory and one or more processors operable to executeinstructions, stored in the memory, to perform the computer-implementedmethod described above.

In another implementation, the technology disclosed describes a system.The system comprises an inline proxy configured with synthetic requestinjection logic to intercept incoming requests and generate syntheticrequests independent of the incoming requests within a same applicationsession.

In yet another implementation, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium impressed with computer program instructions to enforcepolicies is described. The instructions, when executed on a processor,implement a method comprising disambiguating a bypassed login event thatcaused a client to access a cloud application but bypassed a networksecurity system configured to intermediate traffic between the clientand the cloud application.

The network security system receives from the client an incoming requestto access a resource on the cloud application over an applicationsession. The bypassed login event preceded the incoming request.

The network security system analyzes the incoming request and detectsabsence of instance metadata required to determine whether the bypassedlogin event emanated from a controlled account or an uncontrolledaccount. The network security system holds the incoming request,generates a synthetic request, and injects the synthetic request intothe application session and transmits the synthetic request to the cloudapplication. The synthetic request is configured to retrieve theinstance metadata from the cloud application.

The network security system receives a response to the synthetic requestfrom the cloud application. The response supplies the instance metadata.The network security system uses the instance metadata to determinewhether the bypassed login event emanated from the controlled account orthe uncontrolled account.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the incoming request is fulfilled if the bypassed login eventemanated from the controlled account. The controlled account is acorporate account.

In another implementation of the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium, the incoming request is blocked if the bypassed loginevent emanated from the uncontrolled account. The uncontrolled accountis a private account.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the cloud application is a native application running locally ona client and configured to provide access without a login page. Thebypassed login event bypassed the network security system due to lack ofthe login page.

In one implementation of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the cloud application is an unsanctioned application for whichthe network security system lacks an application-specific parser. Thebypassed login event bypassed the network security system due to failureof the network security system to inspect fields and variables in theincoming request for the instance metadata.

In some implementations of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, the instance metadata is used to subject the incoming request topolicy enforcement.

In some implementations of the non-transitory computer readable storagemedium, an authentication token is extracted from the incoming request.The synthetic request is configured with the authentication token.

In yet another implementation, a system including one or more processorscoupled to memory loaded with computer instructions to enforce policiesis described. The instructions, when executed on the processors,implement actions comprising disambiguating a bypassed login event thatcaused a client to access a cloud application but bypassed a networksecurity system configured to intermediate traffic between the clientand the cloud application.

The network security system receives from the client an incoming requestto access a resource on the cloud application over an applicationsession. The bypassed login event preceded the incoming request.

The network security system analyzes the incoming request and detectsabsence of instance metadata required to determine whether the bypassedlogin event emanated from a controlled account or an uncontrolledaccount. The network security system holds the incoming request,generates a synthetic request, and injects the synthetic request intothe application session and transmits the synthetic request to the cloudapplication. The synthetic request is configured to retrieve theinstance metadata from the cloud application.

The network security system receives a response to the synthetic requestfrom the cloud application. The response supplies the instance metadata.The network security system uses the instance metadata to determinewhether the bypassed login event emanated from the controlled account orthe uncontrolled account.

In one implementation of the system, the incoming request is fulfilledif the bypassed login event emanated from the controlled account. Thecontrolled account is a corporate account.

In another implementation of the system, the incoming request is blockedif the bypassed login event emanated from the uncontrolled account. Theuncontrolled account is a private account.

In one implementation of the system, the cloud application is a nativeapplication miming locally on a client and configured to provide accesswithout a login page. The bypassed login event bypassed the networksecurity system due to lack of the login page.

In one implementation of the system, the cloud application is anunsanctioned application for which the network security system lacks anapplication-specific parser. The bypassed login event bypassed thenetwork security system due to failure of the network security system toinspect fields and variables in the incoming request for the instancemetadata

In some implementations of the system, the instance metadata is used tosubject the incoming request to policy enforcement.

In some implementations of the system, an authentication token isextracted from the incoming request. The synthetic request is configuredwith the authentication token.

8) Synthetic Request Injection for Cloud Policy Enforcement

In one implementation, the technology disclosed describes a system. Thesystem comprises a network security system interposed between clientsand cloud applications. The network security system is configured toreceive one or more incoming requests from a client during anapplication session, inject one or more synthetic requests into theapplication session independently of the incoming requests to transmitthe synthetic requests to the cloud application, and receive one or moreresponses to the synthetic requests from the cloud application.

In one implementation, the network security system is further configuredto hold at least one of the incoming requests until the network securitysystem receives at least one of the responses.

In one implementation, the network security system is further configuredto transmit at least one of the incoming requests to the cloudapplication before the network security system transmits at least one ofthe synthetic requests to the cloud application.

In one implementation, the network security system is further configuredto transmit, in parallel, at least one of the incoming requests and atleast one of the synthetic requests to the cloud application.

In one implementation, the network security system is further configuredto use data supplied by at least one of the responses for policyenforcement on objects intercepted by the network security system.

In one implementation, the network security system is further configuredto use the data to change security configurations of objects on thecloud application.

In one implementation, the network security system is further configuredto inject the synthetic requests into the application session inresponse to detecting absence of some metadata.

In some implementations, the synthetic requests are configured toretrieve the metadata from the cloud application.

In some implementations, the synthetic requests are configured toretrieve the metadata from a metadata store independent of the cloudapplication.

In one implementation, the network security system is further configuredto transmit, in parallel, multiples ones of the synthetic requests tothe cloud application for multiple ones of the incoming requests. Themultiple ones of the incoming requests correspond to respectiveactivities being performed on the cloud application.

In another implementation, the technology disclosed describes a system.The system comprises a network security system interposed betweenclients and cloud applications. The network security system isconfigured to receive a first incoming request from a client during anapplication session, transmit the first incoming request to a cloudapplication, and inject a synthetic request into the application sessionto transmit the synthetic request to the cloud application. Thesynthetic request is configured to retrieve metadata not supplied by thefirst incoming request. The network security system is furtherconfigured to receive a response to the synthetic request from the cloudapplication. The response supplies the metadata. The network securitysystem is further configured to receive a further incoming request fromthe client during the application session, and use the supplied metadatato subject the further incoming request to policy enforcement.

In yet another implementation, the technology disclosed describes acomputer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includes anetwork security system, interposed between clients and cloudapplications, receiving one or more incoming requests from a clientduring an application session, the network security system injecting oneor more synthetic requests into the application session independently ofthe incoming requests and transmitting the synthetic requests to thecloud application, and the network security system receiving one or moreresponses to the synthetic requests from the cloud application.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesholding at least one of the incoming requests until the network securitysystem receives at least one of the responses.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includestransmitting at least one of the incoming requests to the cloudapplication before the network security system transmits at least one ofthe synthetic requests to the cloud application.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includestransmitting, in parallel, at least one of the incoming requests and atleast one of the synthetic requests to the cloud application.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further includesusing data supplied by at least one of the responses for policyenforcement on objects intercepted by the network security system.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further using thedata to change security configurations of objects on the cloudapplication.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method further injectingthe synthetic requests into the application session in response todetecting absence of some metadata.

In some implementations, the synthetic requests are configured toretrieve the metadata from the cloud application.

In some implementations, the synthetic requests are configured toretrieve the metadata from a metadata store independent of the cloudapplication.

In one implementation, the computer-implemented method furthertransmitting, in parallel, multiples ones of the synthetic requests tothe cloud application for multiple ones of the incoming requests. Themultiple ones of the incoming requests correspond to respectiveactivities being performed on the cloud application.

In yet another implementation, the technology disclosed describes acomputer-implemented method. The computer-implemented method includes anetwork security system, interposed between clients and cloudapplications, receiving a first incoming request from a client during anapplication session and transmitting the first incoming request to acloud application, and the network security system injecting a syntheticrequest into the application session and transmitting the syntheticrequest to the cloud application. The synthetic request is configured toretrieve metadata not supplied by the first incoming request. Thecomputer-implemented method further includes the network security systemreceiving a response to the synthetic request from the cloudapplication. The response supplies the metadata. Thecomputer-implemented method further includes the network security systemreceiving a further incoming request from the client during theapplication session, and using the supplied metadata to subject thefurther incoming request to policy enforcement.

Other implementations of the computer-implemented methods disclosedherein can include a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring instructions executable by a processor to perform any of thecomputer-implemented methods described above. Yet other implementationsof the computer-implemented methods disclosed herein can include asystem including memory and one or more processors operable to executeinstructions, stored in the memory, to perform any of thecomputer-implemented methods described above.

While the present invention is disclosed by reference to the preferredembodiments and examples detailed above, it is to be understood thatthese examples are intended in an illustrative rather than in a limitingsense. It is contemplated that modifications and combinations willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, which modifications andcombinations will be within the spirit of the invention and the scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a network security systeminterposed between clients and cloud applications, running on one ormore hardware processors coupled to memory storing instructions, theinstructions when executed cause the network security system to:receive, during an application session, an incoming request from aclient, wherein the incoming request is directed towards a cloudapplication and includes an object identifier of an object and anactivity initiated on the object, and wherein the incoming request isintercepted by the network security system; analyze the incomingrequest; detect the object identifier based on the analyzing theincoming request; hold the incoming request to hold execution of theactivity on the object; configure a synthetic request with the objectidentifier; inject the synthetic request into the application session totransmit the synthetic request to the cloud application, wherein thesynthetic request is configured to retrieve object metadata about theobject using the object identifier, and wherein the synthetic request isgenerated by the network security system in response to the incomingrequest and is separate from the incoming request generated by theclient; receive a response to the synthetic request from the cloudapplication, wherein the response supplies the object metadata that isavailable for enforcing a security policy on the activity initiated onthe object by the incoming request; and evaluate the object metadataagainst the security policy, the evaluation comprising: in response to adetermination that the activity qualifies as executable on the objectbased on the object metadata and the security policy: release the holdof the incoming request, and transmit the incoming request to the cloudapplication for execution of the activity; and in response to adetermination that the activity does not qualify as executable on theobject based on the object metadata and the security policy: block theincoming request from the cloud application.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the object metadata comprises object name.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the object metadata comprises object size.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the object metadata comprises object type. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein the object metadata comprises objectsensitivity.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the network securitysystem is further configured to use the object metadata to enforce atleast one security policy on one or more of the incoming request and/ora further incoming request that follows the incoming request.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the activity comprises one or more ofuploading the object to the cloud application, downloading the objectfrom the cloud application, editing the object on the cloud application,deleting the object from the cloud application, creating the object onthe cloud application, sharing the object on the cloud application,moving the object within the cloud application, and moving the objectoutside the cloud application.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein thedetermination determines that the activity qualifies as executable, andwherein the network security system is further configured to: return thesupplied object metadata to the client for display as supplementalconfirmation of the execution of the activity on the object.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the synthetic request is further configuredto use the object identifier to retrieve the object from the cloudapplication, wherein the response supplies the object.
 10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the network security system is further configured toenforce the security policy on the object.
 11. The system of claim 9,wherein the network security system is further configured to analyze theretrieved object to generate the object metadata, wherein the generatedobject metadata is sensitivity metadata that specifies whether theretrieved object is sensitive or not.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the network security system is further configured to use thegenerated object metadata to enforce the security policy on theretrieved object.
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein the networksecurity system is further configured to transmit the retrieved objectto the client.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the network securitysystem is further configured to extract an authentication token from theincoming request, and to configure the synthetic request with theauthentication token to access the cloud application.
 15. Acomputer-implemented method, comprising: a network security system,interposed between clients and cloud applications, the network securitysystem receiving, during an application session, an incoming requestfrom a client, wherein the incoming request is directed towards a cloudapplication and includes an object identifier of an object and anactivity initiated on the object; the network security system analyzingthe incoming request; the network security system detecting the objectidentifier based on the analyzing the incoming request; the networksecurity system holding the incoming request to hold execution of theactivity on the object; the network security system configuring asynthetic request with the object identifier; the network securitysystem injecting the synthetic request into the application session totransmit the synthetic request to the cloud application, wherein thesynthetic request is configured to retrieve object metadata about theobject using the object identifier, and wherein the synthetic request isgenerated by the network security system in response to the incomingrequest and is separate from the incoming request generated by theclient; the network security system receiving a response to thesynthetic request from the cloud application, wherein the responsesupplies the object metadata; and the network security system evaluatingthe object metadata against a security policy, the evaluationcomprising: in response to a determination that the activity qualifiesas executable on the object based on the object metadata and thesecurity policy: releasing the hold of the incoming request, andtransmitting the incoming request to the cloud application for executionof the activity; and in response to a determination that the activitydoes not qualify as executable on the object based on the objectmetadata and the security policy: blocking the incoming request from thecloud application.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15,wherein the object metadata comprises one or more of object name, objectsize, object type, and object sensitivity.
 17. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 15, wherein the activity comprises one or more ofuploading the object to the cloud application, downloading the objectfrom the cloud application, editing the object on the cloud application,deleting the object from the cloud application, creating the object onthe cloud application, sharing the object on the cloud application,moving the object within the cloud application, and moving the objectoutside the cloud application.
 18. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium impressed with computer program instructions to enforcepolicies, the instructions, when executed on a processor, implement amethod comprising: a network security system, interposed between clientsand cloud applications, the network security system receiving, during anapplication session, an incoming request from a client, wherein theincoming request is directed towards a cloud application and includes anobject identifier of an object and an activity initiated on the object;the network security system analyzing the incoming request; the networksecurity system detecting the object identifier based on the analyzingthe incoming request; the network security system holding the incomingrequest to hold execution of the activity on the object; the networksecurity system configuring a synthetic request with the objectidentifier; the network security system injecting the synthetic requestinto the application session to transmit the synthetic request to thecloud application, wherein the synthetic request is configured toretrieve object metadata about the object using the object identifier,and wherein the synthetic request is generated by the network securitysystem in response to the incoming request and is separate from theincoming request generated by the client; the network security systemreceiving a response to the synthetic request from the cloudapplication, wherein the response supplies the object metadata; and thenetwork security system evaluating the object metadata against asecurity policy, the evaluation comprising: in response to adetermination that the activity qualifies as executable on the objectbased on the object metadata and the security policy: releasing the holdof the incoming request, and transmitting the incoming request to thecloud application for execution of the activity; and in response to adetermination that the activity does not qualify as executable on theobject based on the object metadata and the security policy: blockingthe incoming request from the cloud application.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the objectmetadata comprises one or more of object name, object size, object type,and object sensitivity.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 18, wherein the activity comprises one or more ofuploading the object to the cloud application, downloading the objectfrom the cloud application, editing the object on the cloud application,deleting the object from the cloud application, creating the object onthe cloud application, sharing the object on the cloud application,moving the object within the cloud application, and moving the objectoutside the cloud application.